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Ford Reconfirms Hybrid Bronco After Axing Passenger Car Lineup

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Ford has reconfirmed that a Hybrid Bronco is coming. A little more color below.

After Gutting Its Car Lineup, Ford to Hybridize Bronco and Other Trucks and SUVs

Ford dumped the Bronco SUV from its lineup 22 years ago. Now, in hybrid form, it could be the exemplar for how the automaker hopes to grow its business in America.

In light of the automaker’s bombshell announcement that it will mostly transition out of the passenger-car business, the company will need to apply its EV and hybrid efforts to trucks, SUVs, and crossovers.

The 2020 Ford Bronco is one of several models for which Ford has now confirmed a hybrid variant. The Bronco promises head-turning design and a hybrid version that doesn’t sacrifice truck toughness, and it should make an intriguing mashup of old and new. The Bronco going hybrid isn’t as shocking as it might have been a year or two ago; it’s nearly a competitive necessity. The Jeep Wrangler is already hybridized in four-cylinder form, and by the time the Bronco reaches the market, a Wrangler plug-in hybridwill have arrived.

Ford last month said that it aims to increase its SUV sales by 20 percent, discussing plans to offer eight SUVs by 2020. Five of those models will offer hybrid powertrains, and one will be a battery-electric vehicle. The company has, at various times, confirmed hybrid versions of the F-150, Mustang, Explorer, and Escape as well as the Bronco. Plus, based on outside reports, hybrid versions of the Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator, and Lincoln MKC are all expected around 2020. Among these, several are likely to be plug-in hybrids, but Ford has also suggested the possibility of an onboard generator system for the F-150 hybrid, a model that could share its hybrid design with the Bronco.

The Bronco will be heavily based on the Ranger pickup, so that could open up another hybrid possibility that Ford hasn’t discussed yet. Ford once had one of the strongest-selling hybrids on the market with its Escape hybrid; a new version of this nameplate could inherit some of the recent upgrades given to the Fusion Energi, which has no long-term future, and the already discontinued C-Max Energi.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a...to-hybridize-bronco-and-other-trucks-and-suvs

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Mmmm I'm not too excited about a hybrid 4x4, even with the Jeep. I do believe that Ford has made a BIG mistake by dumping nearly the entire car line up.
 

BONESTOCK

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Ugh....I want the most simple version of the Bronco possible. Once I take possession I don't plan to ever bring my Bronco anywhere near a shop/dealer. I do my own work.
 

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Fusion Energi is awesome. Been flawless. If they can put that into the Bronco, awesome
 

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Fusion Energi is awesome. Been flawless. If they can put that into the Bronco, awesome
Is it a disposable solution for new car buyers who only keep a vehicle a few years or something that people will want and use 15 years from now?
 

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Ugh....I want the most simple version of the Bronco possible. Once I take possession I don't plan to ever bring my Bronco anywhere near a shop/dealer. I do my own work.
Good thing is there'll be something for everyone - a conventional gasoline Bronco and now a hybrid Bronco.

I think a hybrid Bronco is a great idea from the business side -- it's a good hedge strategy if fuel prices spike again.
 

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Is it a disposable solution for new car buyers who only keep a vehicle a few years or something that people will want and use 15 years from now?
One might rightly assume that battery technology will advance in the next 8 years (just like it has the past 8) and battery replacement will be available. And the Energi is EV/Hybrid/Gas. Even if the battery goes to shit, the engine and drive train keep the vehicle rolling.

So, not sure what you are getting at.
 

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One might rightly assume that battery technology will advance in the next 8 years (just like it has the past 8) and battery replacement will be available. And the Energi is EV/Hybrid/Gas. Even if the battery goes to shit, the engine and drive train keep the vehicle rolling.

So, not sure what you are getting at.
EV/hybrid seems like a gimmick to me and I much prefer the ICE. I think batteries are not nearly a mature technology and they are geared toward frequent replacement. Perfect for a cell phone or automobile manufacturer that wants customers to purchase a new vehicle every few years. Possibly not so perfect for a car buyer who might want to have an inexpensive, easy to maintain and reliable vehicle 10+ years from now.
 

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EV/hybrid seems like a gimmick to me and I much prefer the ICE.
Guess we'll see. Like I said. Our Fusion Energi has been a dream. 39mpg real world and that is without charging it every night. Amazing 3 years and running.
 

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LiOn batteries like certain conditions. Not fully charged, not fully depleted, certain temperature ranges etc.

In automotive applications with an 8year/100k mile warranty those conditions are adhered to strictly with charging algorithms, liquid cooling etc. An iPhone is purposely kept outside of those conditions so that you need to upgrade every 2-3 years. The way cell phone batteries degrade is much different that in automotive. Planned obsolescence in one case, planned longevity in the other.

So my 4 year old Chevy Spark EV still has the same range now as it did when new. My iPhone I got last year.. not so much.

The ironic thing is that counter to public opinion there is nothing less expensive, easier to maintain or more reliable than pure electric. No oil to change, no cams to wear out, no timing belt, no valves to get gummed up with DI blow by, not even brake pads to replace as most of the slowing down just regenerates electricity. There has been zero maintenance on my car besides tires and windshield wipers.

But all that is gravy.. The best part of electric is torque. Its instant. A flat as pancake torque curve that starts at 0 RPM. It is very addicting. Perfectly smooth and controllable. In my opinion absolutely perfect for off-road and towing applications. And fast.. there is a reason Tesla is out accelerating Hellcats.

Problem is range and charge time.. Batteries just cannot hold enough energy to give enough range. So for now a hybrid is the answer. I personally like the plug-in hybrid model because it allows for 100% EV driving which covers 90% of my daily needs, which is <50 miles a day. When I need to go explore farther the gas motor can charge the batteries and range is then the same as ICE engines. The on board generator ICE engine only needs to operate occasionally and often at consistent RPMs which means it will last a long long time. There are Volts out there with 300k miles still going strong.

Personally I want a manual trans V8 2-door option because.. well just because I do.

But since V8 and manual and even 2-door are questionable the hybrid is a great 2nd option.
 

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Agreed, problems are range and charge time. Also weight is a problem. In my opinion complexity and cost are problems as well.

And having a small engine that is a generator along with a nearly silent electric power plant is a huge problem for me. I like the characteristics of an ICE - the noise, how it revs out and makes more power as the revs increase, etc.
 
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Hybrid Bronco is still planned.

via: https://www.autoblog.com/2019/05/09/2020-ford-bronco-hybrid/

The news comes to us via Automotive News reporter Michael Martinez, who tweeted that Ford CEO Jim Hackett confirmed the variant during an investor meeting. We've reached out to Ford for independent confirmation and will update this story as soon as we get comment.



Naturally, we're curious what sort of hybrid system will be used for this Bronco. We would wager it will be a version of the hybrid unit used by the Explorer and Aviator hybrid. The 10-speed transmission and electric motor don't take up much more space than a conventional transmission, and it can clearly handle plenty of power and torque since it's coupled to the Aviator's twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6, which makes 400 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque without the hybrid system. If it isn't this system, we imagine it's a variant of whatever Ford is putting in its upcoming hybrid F-150, but we don't have details on that yet. For all we know, that could also be a version of the Aviator system.

The existence of a hybrid Bronco also leads us to believe that we'll see a hybrid Ford Ranger in the near future. The Bronco shares its platform with the Ranger, so it shouldn't be too difficult to adapt its particular hybrid system to the pickup truck. And considering Ford's push into hybrids and electric cars, it seems likely. The question will be whether it shows up on the current or refreshed model, or a more thoroughly redesigned version.

We're expecting the Ford Bronco hybrid to be launched alongside the normal one, so probably within a year for the 2020 model year. Other than the hybridization, the Bronco hybrid will probably be mechanically identical to the gas-only version, meaning a short wheelbase, independent front suspension, and probably a coil-sprung live rear axle. The Bronco hybrid will have competition soon after in the form of the Jeep Wrangler plug-in hybrid, a model that Jeep has confirmed for 2020. We expect that SUV to use a version of the Pacifica Hybrid's 260-horsepower V6 and electric motors, but naturally adapted to a longitudinal engine and traditional part-time four-wheel drive.
 

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I really hope the hybrid option is available from the start, I don’t want to have to wait another year after the release to pick one up.
 

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We're expecting the Ford Bronco hybrid to be launched alongside the normal one, so probably within a year for the 2020 model year.
So we're back to a 2020MY, released around May of 2020? I'd like to see what they base this guess on. Ford asserts the Bronco will be a 2021MY, maybe autoblog has better sources.
 

78CreamBrownie

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So we're back to a 2020MY, released around May of 2020? I'd like to see what they base this guess on. Ford asserts the Bronco will be a 2021MY, maybe autoblog has better sources.
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