Photo: Ford
Jim Baumbick, the vice president of product development, operations, and quality at Ford Motor Company, has great news for Bronco enthusiasts. During the 2023 Bank of America Global Automotive Summit, he confirmed that plenty more derivatives are currently in the works to improve Bronco sales.
Jim is aware that – especially in this particular segment – derivatives bring in a plethora of new customers to the brand. He gives three examples in this regard, namely the Everglades, Heritage, and the Raptor.
Baumbick further highlighted these derivatives are only the start, which – reading between the lines – also means that we should look forward to plenty more variants of the two- and four-door Bronco. "We’re never going to let the foot off the throttle pedal," he added. In other words, the Ford Motor Company has finally realized that it can bring down the Wrangler if the peeps in charge of product development successfully deliver enough Bronco derivatives.
It won't be an easy job, though, because the second-largest automaker of the Big Three in Detroit has yet to address the measly production output and quality issues that hamper the Bronco's appeal. We also have to remember that Ford allows the US dealership network to charge ridiculous market adjustments, be it a two-door Base with steelies or a big-boy Raptor.
Another stumbling block that will hit Ford pretty hard is the aftermarket, which greatly favors the Wrangler. It definitely shows the Bronco has been away for almost a quarter of a century, spanning the period between the fifth and sixth generations. During this period, the Wrangler evolved into something that Chrysler's executives couldn't have imagined back in the 1980s when the YJ series replaced the CJ-7.
Unfortunately for the Bronco crowd, Jim didn't give any clues in regard to upcoming derivatives of the Ranger-based sport utility vehicle. Is there a V8 engine in the offing? Probably not, especially not after shoehorning the 3.0-liter EcoBoost in the Raptor.
Something that's more likely to see the light of production is a plug-in hybrid powertrain with an EcoBoost lump serving as the internal combustion part of the system. There is plenty of evidence to support this option, beginning with the owner's manual.
Page 366 of the 552-page owner's manual for the 2021 model year Ford Bronco includes a few storing tips for vehicles equipped with – get this – hybrid battery systems. Chevrolet also indirectly confirmed the E-Ray in the owner's manual for the 2020 model year Corvette Stingray by means of a fuse diagram.
There's also the EV Coaching feature we covered back in July 2020, and who could forget what Jim Hackett said at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders back in May 2019? More specifically, the former chief executive officer confirmed hybrid-electric versions of the Explorer unibody sport utility vehicle and the more rugged Bronco. The former is available as a hybrid and as a plug-in hybrid, yet the Bronco isn't. For now...
On that note, what kind of Bronco derivatives are you looking forward to from MY24 onwards?
Baumbick further highlighted these derivatives are only the start, which – reading between the lines – also means that we should look forward to plenty more variants of the two- and four-door Bronco. "We’re never going to let the foot off the throttle pedal," he added. In other words, the Ford Motor Company has finally realized that it can bring down the Wrangler if the peeps in charge of product development successfully deliver enough Bronco derivatives.
It won't be an easy job, though, because the second-largest automaker of the Big Three in Detroit has yet to address the measly production output and quality issues that hamper the Bronco's appeal. We also have to remember that Ford allows the US dealership network to charge ridiculous market adjustments, be it a two-door Base with steelies or a big-boy Raptor.
Another stumbling block that will hit Ford pretty hard is the aftermarket, which greatly favors the Wrangler. It definitely shows the Bronco has been away for almost a quarter of a century, spanning the period between the fifth and sixth generations. During this period, the Wrangler evolved into something that Chrysler's executives couldn't have imagined back in the 1980s when the YJ series replaced the CJ-7.
Unfortunately for the Bronco crowd, Jim didn't give any clues in regard to upcoming derivatives of the Ranger-based sport utility vehicle. Is there a V8 engine in the offing? Probably not, especially not after shoehorning the 3.0-liter EcoBoost in the Raptor.
Something that's more likely to see the light of production is a plug-in hybrid powertrain with an EcoBoost lump serving as the internal combustion part of the system. There is plenty of evidence to support this option, beginning with the owner's manual.
Page 366 of the 552-page owner's manual for the 2021 model year Ford Bronco includes a few storing tips for vehicles equipped with – get this – hybrid battery systems. Chevrolet also indirectly confirmed the E-Ray in the owner's manual for the 2020 model year Corvette Stingray by means of a fuse diagram.
There's also the EV Coaching feature we covered back in July 2020, and who could forget what Jim Hackett said at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders back in May 2019? More specifically, the former chief executive officer confirmed hybrid-electric versions of the Explorer unibody sport utility vehicle and the more rugged Bronco. The former is available as a hybrid and as a plug-in hybrid, yet the Bronco isn't. For now...
On that note, what kind of Bronco derivatives are you looking forward to from MY24 onwards?
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