Webasto May Open Second Facility to Help Meet Bronco Hard Top Demand

[MadMan4BamaNATL]

meanwhile us mythical 2-door folks are SOL for options.....

True in a sense, but remember that there aren't that many of us, so you're likely in better company than it seems.

I'm in this with you.

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[da_jokker]

I think Ford made a bad call as to not dig deeper into Webasto's "progress", but I wouldn't be surprised if Webasto straight up mislead Ford and told them "we'll be ready"...all the way up until the point they literally missed their delivery deadline.

I'm frustrated like many, even more so because I know damn well a WT (4-door) can easily come with a soft top but Ford doesn't give that option...but when you think about how limited supplies were this last year, it is a bit amazing that this new vehicle even made it this far.

It's not like Jeep who already had parts coming in and in stock and such. Literally the world was shut down right as Ford was trying to buy parts for 100k+ vehicles.

I'm trying to be understanding, but I do think Ford has willingly and knowingly been vague and dangled carrots to keep folks from jumping ship and that is BS. Had they come out even 6 months ago and said...we have postponed the Bronco to 2022, at least people could have known where they stand.

The crap they pulled with Dealer Allocations vs Timestamps, priority orders, and now dealer stock....Ford can definitely share the blame for this piss poor roll-out.

 

[Bronco23]

My main concern at this point is quality of product. I would hope Webasto is not cutting corners in some way to increase production. If hard tops start Cracking, fading, peeling or who knows what else in a year or two Ford will have a whole different problem.

 

[Mustang GTA]

Educated people are making these brilliant moves.
They should have known to do this 6 months ago.
What a joke.
People need to stop orders and buy a reliable Jeep product instead.

 

[LSBronco13]

This smells like Ford chose the Lowest Price Technically Acceptable Contract (Webassto) with no back up plan. It obviously blew up in their face.

The scary part is Webassto is still on the hook to make the painted hard tops.

Well I stand corrected. I said Webasto "MIC"Tops stood for "Molded InCompetence" but after quote," the company’s tooling and testing equipment resides in Northern Italy and Wuhan, China" It stands for "Molded In Coronavirus".

 

[rmc523]

So webasto is going to open a second plant and then lose the contract? Seems like it’s either one or the other.

From what I gathered, it sounds like the top operations are going to be split - Webasto will continue making MIC tops (including apparently this second factory), while another unnamed supplier will take over MOD top production, thus Webasto focuses solely on MIC tops.

Isn't that what the mod center they talked about for?

That's designed to add some factory accessories to a percentage of models, not a full soft-top production line for a ton of standard 2 doors.

 

[Los]

Not sure if this was already posted here or not.

https://fordauthority.com/2021/07/2...pplier-is-struggling-mightily-to-meet-demand/

2021 Ford Bronco Hardtop Supplier Is Struggling Mightily To Meet Demand

While 2021 Ford Bronco production has been less affected by the semiconductor chip shortage than most other models, it has been seriously hampered by another supply chain problem – hardtops. The Ford Bronco hardtop supplier – Webasto – has struggled mightily to produce the number of tops that Ford needs to fulfill customer orders, despite the fact that the automaker has invested millions to help fix the problem. Now, we’re learning more about the problems facing the Bronco hardtop supplier via a new report from the Detroit Free Press.

Webasto, a German company, built a brand new plant in Plymouth, Michigan back in 2019, a site that was specifically designed to support Bronco hardtop production. And it appears that another facility could be in the works to help catch up with demand as well. “We are working with Webasto to increase roof production, which could include a second facility in metro Detroit,” Ford spokesperson Said Deep told the Free Press.

Unfortunately, even that expansion won’t lead to meaningful hardtop production until 2022. In the meantime, Ford has trimmed down its available hardtop options available to customers to just one – the Carbonized Gray molded-in color (MIC) top, while delaying other options, including a painted hardtop, to the 2023 model year. The automaker hopes that this will help to right the proverbial ship more quickly than if it offered numerous choices.

Ford originally planned for an 80 percent take rate on hardtop-equipped Broncos, but hardtops are currently only making up around 60 percent of total production as Webasto simply can’t produce enough tops to satisfy customer demand. Ford recently informed order holders that switching to a soft top would make them eligible for September production, and it will include a hardtop prep kit with every soft top Bronco produced beginning that same month.

The reasons for Webasto’s struggles are somewhat complicated and multiple in nature. Part of the problem lies in the fact that much of the company’s tooling and testing equipment resides in Northern Italy and Wuhan, China, both places that were hit incredibly hard by COVID-19. On top of that, Webasto is struggling to find enough workers to make hardtops, which Ford is helping with as well, reportedly sending “many” hourly and salaried employees of its own to the top maker’s Michigan plant.

Meanwhile, Ford is admittedly frustrated by the problem, as are Bronco customers, but the automaker is working with Webasto to rectify the issue. “We’re working as fast as we can,” Deep said. “We want to make everybody happy.”

 

[PrepVet]

Just in time for the MY33.

 

[Los]

So, I read it on my email, and my impression is that the mic is still being manufactured. does anybody knows if the mic is paintable? I'm waiting for my Wildtrak with a mic and would like to paint it either jet black or cyber orange to match the paint...

 

[topher3134]

To be honest the only part that bothers me is they are sending trucks to dealers with tops that could be used to build reservations those trucks can be sold at 6 months and 4K miles or some crap. Meanwhile there are people with reservations that won’t get their builds till well after that. Ford messed all this up so bad it’s amazing that they are not firing people left and right. Wait till some 60 minutes type journalists dig into what has changed since people gave money for their trucks. This too issue is a small part of what’s wrong with the bronco roll out. And it’s how they handled everything as a whole that makes me upset. Not that there is a limitation on production of hard tops.

 

[RedHotFuzz]

Wait till some 60 minutes type journalists dig into what has changed since people gave money for their trucks.

Sorry, all the "journalists" are still busy trying to determine how Trump got two scoops of ice cream.

 

[Axxlrod]

Ford should have known better than to go with a supplier that uses cartoon letters for it's name.

 

[Pitpup]

The crap they pulled with Dealer Allocations vs Timestamps, priority orders, and now dealer stock....Ford can definitely share the blame for this piss poor roll-out.

Take the rest of the day off, you've deserved it!

 

[Red Mountain Pass]

I don't know why Ford is not looking the engineers, purchasing managers and Production director here on Bronco 6G to produce this Bronco and fulfill our orders in less than a month.

Non of those spoiled brats that only complaint and whining about why Ford didn't do that or this or even suggesting to give the Bronco production to another company, Have ANY IDEA of the automotive complexity industry or even to run a business on that industry.

Ask to Elon Musk why is more expedite to build and lunch Rocket to the space than launching a new vehicle to the market. Now add to that complexity all the struggle in the last year that not even a simple gallon of primer from Sherwin-williams you can find since April.

The only reason that this launch has been longer than usuals is because they make it public in 2017 that that program was under development thanks to the critics of the former US president to the American Brands that they were taking the less important vehicle production overseas.

At this moment there should more than a dozen of programs that y'all don't even imagine that they exist and we will heard about it in five years or more.

I bleed blue, Ford has been in my mind since I was a little kid and I had the enormous opportunity to work at Ford and I know a hint of those complexity.

I can assure y'all that Ford is doing everything in their power to fulfill our orders ASAP without compromising the quality and the safety of everybody, from general labor to customers.

So, BE PATIENT and enjoy the fact that y'all are living this times and soon or later going to have a wonderful vehicle in your garages.

It appears we've found one of Ford's "rock stars". LOL

 

[North7]

So, I read it on my email, and my impression is that the mic is still being manufactured. does anybody knows if the mic is paintable? I'm waiting for my Wildtrak with a mic and would like to paint it either jet black or cyber orange to match the paint...

I hate to say please use the search button but this has been discussed many times with multple answers, yes, no, maybe, use a vinyl wrap, etc, etc.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/search/3177984/?q=Paint+hardtop&o=date

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