The Morning After: Bronco Production News Update and Notes [June 16]

[vrtical]

On a roll. Come on Fridays ramp up.

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[Carolina Jim]

Let's put where we are in perspective: It began with the simpelist of concepts: log in @8pm & get one of the first new icons...prolly in January 2021.

Then the internet broke...rona exploded...we learned about allocations, order codes, prioritiy orders & VIPs, we became intimate with that freaky word, WEBASTO...and a new meaning for 'deadly sins'.

Without this forum & thoughtful insiders like Ross, I never would have made it thru the maze. Now, I'm ~2 months away from posting a 'driveway' pic. Thanks to everyone who helped along the way!

 

[BroncoHoncho]

What constitutes an early reservation holder. I have a reservation date of 7/21 and order placed 1/30.

 

[RoLyMa27]

Now, I'm ~2 months away from posting a 'driveway' pic. Thanks to everyone who helped along the way!

Amen brother!

 

[rgalvinmi]

What constitutes an early reservation holder. I have a reservation date of 7/21 and order placed 1/30.

I'm a July 19th reservation holder (like 1am) and I guess I am considered "late reservation holder"....sucks.
BUT...I have LEARNED....made F150 lightning reservation within 3 hours of release, AND made a Maverick reservation within hours of release(NO deposit for maverick reservations) and FORCED my way to the dealer a couple days later to PLACE AN ORDER with a deposit. Received confirmation from dealer that the assembly plant received my order.

 

[JT58Bronc]

I'll expect to see a lot of Broncos driving around and on the dealer lots then. It will be cool to actually see one, since I have not been able to. There were so many reservations at my dealer there were too many people to even allow me to attend the one or two days they were there for private showing back in April.

I expect to receive mine in Q1 or Q2 2022 since it is a 2 door and Sas with MIC. Reserving early meant nothing given the issues, priority orders, dealer allocations, etc. Didn't know about dealer allocations and priority orders- or I would have not placed a reservation.

 

[RoLyMa27]

What constitutes an early reservation holder. I have a reservation date of 7/21 and order placed 1/30.

That's a good question. Early on if you reserved within the first three days you were early. I'm 7/14 ~7:30am. Now with people getting scheduled and build dates that reserved in August or even later, the idea of an early reservation meaning anything flew right out the window! All due to commodity restraints.

 

[THEMANatwar]

Awesome update. I hope you are right on early reservations getting a production date soon!

 

[MayhemMike]

So as a MY22 reservation ( per Ford) instead of January or February of 22, it most likely will be October-December of 22 before I have the vehicle in my garage. This has to be a nightmare that I am about to wake up from. Amazing,

 

[PREMiERdrum]

Awesome intel! Thank you!!!

What is even considered an early reservation? Has Ford defined that or is it really just subjective?

This is purely my understanding, but the first 36 hours after debut seem to be considered "early."

Thanks for the update. Very much appreciated! If you happen to get to Dayton please let me know and Ill buy you a beer! And you can drive my bronco if I get mine before yours. Currently June 7th pushed to Aug 16th. 2 dr, BB, 2.7, Mid, LSD.

I'm out in Dayton quite a bit! We're just a few miles off of 70 east of Columbus so it's a flat, straight shot. I'll return the offer - my Bronco is being built next Thursday so I should have it in a few weeks.

So 2.7 engines are no longer an issue?

Not nearly as serious as the rest. The slower ramp up let them catch up with supply.

As a drummer, I love you are sell great percussion instruments and are helping keep music alive in schools!

As a Bronco order holder with an ever-moving build date, I am very grateful for the time, effort and consideration you have shown at helping us get threw this process with great knowledge...Thank You!

Thank you! If you can't tell, I enjoy it.

Have we heard why the MIC is an issue even just based on 2DR vs 4DR?

Something ominous with the different dimensions or just what they chose to focus on for now?

Production challenges of 2-door roofs vs. 4-door roofs.

 

[CDN Jen]

While I'm sure it's little solace to those with early reservations and still no VIN, yesterday's announcement was a huge step forward in Bringing Back Bronco. While there is a LOT to be excited about, it's worth tempering our expectations a bit a lot of yesterday's info.

Production:
- MAP is currently pushing out about 125 a shift, and that will swell to 150 a shift by Friday. The next stepped target increase will be 200 per shift, but don't look for them to ramp up to that too quickly. MAP has a sterling reputation for quality and management won't sacrifice that for speed.
- Bronco's body shop (remember that Bronco and Ranger have fully separate body shops that "Y" feed onto one final assembly line) hit over *300* bodies completed during a single shift yesterday, a major milestone in getting the entire operation up to full speed. Body won't be pushing out these numbers consistently until Final Assembly can keep up, but the systems are working.
- With 125,000 reservations converted to orders, we could be looking at late Q2 2022 for completion of reservations as long as no other major constraints pop up. Earlier estimates were mid- to late-Q3.
- There was understandably a lot of enthusiasm yesterday when the early production stats showed 35% of rigs produced up to that point were 2-door models. However, please understand that this ratio was skewed by production of the dealer demo units (many of which were 2 doors). 2-door production will remain constrained by roof issues. See below.

Constraints:
- Roofs. While Tow, Squatch, and Lux packages are running a bit behind demand, the MIC hardtop remains the biggest constraint in getting your rig. Webasto's Plymouth plant is fairly well staffed now with training ongoing, but the pace of MIC tops built by Ford employees (mainly coming from Flat Rock) over their shut down won't be matched for a while. Expect 2 door MIC tops to lag behind 4 door MIC tops for the summer.
- In a bit of good news for the 2-door crowd, the floorpan issue has been addressed to satisfaction.
- I have not heard a completely firm answer on the MY22 mod tops, but it's looking more likely that they'll come out of Plymouth as originally planned instead of trying to get a new supplier moving this late in the game. With Ford's continued presence at that plant, I'm optimistic that this is the better course of action.

The Bronco Brand:
- Conquest results of both Sport sales and Bronco 2/4dr reservations is widely outpacing targets, showing strong proof of concept in the 3-model launch portfolio. Warthog's announcement isn't too far off, and I expect we could see the next member of the Bronco family debut in the next 18 months (even if in concept form).
- The bespoke "Bronco" showroom options - developed by Ford at the request of dealers - will play a part in the brand's second wave of growth as first wave deliveries wrap up. I can't say too much more, but these will be much more than upfitting and accessory displays.

Going Forward:
Things are really moving now. If you're an early reservation holder who didn't defer to MY22 for the mod top, you should be hearing something in the next few weeks of scheduling. If you had an order (mostly 2 doors) pushed from June to July to August, there's hope that you'll be pulled back forward once roof supply picks up a bit. The last wave of delays was more of a "worst case scenario" to avoid even more disappointment. I would expect targets and dates from here on out to be sandbagged a bit in the hope of overdelivering.

This is great info!!! Thank you for sharing!

What would you consider an "early" reservation holder? Someone who ordered on the first day? First week? July orders? Just trying to calibrate my expectations.

 

[ChrisD]

Thanks, Ross! I always appreciate your news.

 

[604Bronco]

Great update; thanks again! All very helpful and valuable insights for everyone here.

Frankly, with each update like this I get a little less annoyed by Ford by the lack of communication. I just need my info from somewhere!

 

[LadyBronco]

Thank you, Ross!!

 

[Dads_bronze_bronco]

Considering the uncertainty around Mod top timing—I mean, if they are having this much trouble starting up MIC production, and they haven't even begun Mod production, will they even be able to meet that 1H22 production window in volume for Mod?—if Ford were able to offer a Bestop Trektop 2 door with future hard top connections option, I would probably un-99 my order.

I am at the point where I am not sure what to believe will be available in 22, vs what I can get now.

Mansquatch: haven't heard one word on availability timing / not sure I want it or not anyway since I haven't seen either a Badlands or a Sasquatch in person - just the Southeast dealer mall crawler tour

Heritage: totally dependent on new start up top production which hasn't gone well for MIC (and didn't for Jeep either)

Warthog: not 3 door / don't want

New colors: had green for 13 years, time for a change. Stare at Cyber Orange vs Yellowstone every day, and frankly I like both, both have positives, and both are slightly flawed (too orange / too dirty). If Peak Blue Metallic is like Brittany Blue - that may sway me. My neighbor has an Austin Healy 3000 in Austin Healy aka Ice Blue Metallic, and that color is beautiful. That's a big IF though—my wife put a stop on additional touchup paint orders—and Peak and Yellowstone may be tied to an FE level priced Heritage Edition and Mod top delays, while CO may go away.

Other improvements: 2.7 manual (heard nothing), max tow (one sighting of a sway bar on an Everglades model that the observer thought might increase towing capacity-would be nice but what would it be available on), washout seat backs on a Badlands/Black Diamond (nice but not a must wait)

I don't think Ford can offer a soft top two door—I think they are tied by some weird regulation on that (like Jeep is)—but if they could, I'd run a soft top for a few years, and pick up a mod top and paint it Wimbledon White downstream all the while living happily.

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