Ford Bronco, Baby Bronco Ruled Out For Right-Hand-Drive Markets

[- BRONCOPP -]

Sorry, Australia.

Americans are eager to get their hands on both the new Bronco and its baby sibling. Ford says the latter could be here as early as next year, while the full-sized Bronco probably won't make its debut until 2020. But in markets like Australia, neither the new Bronco nor its pint-sized sibling might show up at all.

Reports suggest that Ford won't be exporting the Bronco twins to markets outside of North America. According to Ford Australia boss Kay Hart in an interview with CarSales, Ford has no plans to convert the Bronco to right-hand drive.

"There's nothing to announce. There are currently no plans in place for right-hand drive Bronco," Hart told the publication. When pressed on whether the Bronco, or its sibling, had any chance to make it in Australia, Hart said: "Not currently."

But there's one big reason Ford isn't betting on the Bronco down under: The Ranger. Hart said the company is "extremely happy with the performance of Ranger," even though the company saw a decrease of 1.3-percent in Ranger sales in 2018 in the region (38,779 units). "Ranger is doing such a fantastic job here," Hart continued. "We're happy with the line-up as it stands, but that's not to say we wouldn't look to add to the range in future."

For now, at least, it looks like Ford will offer the Bronco in just a handful of markets. When it does arrive in the U.S. in 2020, it should have a somewhere in excess of 325 horsepower (242 kilowatts). The Baby Bronco, meanwhile, could adopt the “Puma” moniker, and might share its platform with the next-generation Escape.

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Full article: https://www.motor1.com/news/298120/bronco-ruled-out-rhd-markets/

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[Stampede.Offroad]

The Everest fills the same niche in Australia that the Bronco would here, or the Explorer. It's hard to tell when we know nothing about the Bronco.

The Maverick/Puma/baby not going down under seems a little odd, considering that Australia and New Zealand were precisely the places that the Puma name was re-upped for trademark by Ford ... they don't even hold that name in the US last I heard, but they do in Europe.

One of the older quotes from the interview/article that one cites does seem contradictory:

‘The rugged new Bronco will be a midsize SUV, and will be part of the global Ford vehicle portfolio in 2020’, said the Ford press release.

The Ford press release:
https://media.ford.com/content/ford.../09/f-150-bronco-ranger-city-of-tomorrow.html

The CarSales.com.au article with the "interview":
https://www.carsales.com.au/editorial/details/ford-bronco-not-coming-in-2020-116202/

An interesting follow on article at CarSales that talks about some of the division in the design process for the Bronco.
https://www.carsales.com.au/editorial/details/ford-prototypes-taking-shape-in-melbourne-112244/


The only thing they all seem to have in common is rampant random speculation. Something Ford will hopefully settle most of next month.


I'm not sure if the idea that the Dearborn team was responsible for the 'tophat' and the Broadmedows team was responsible for the chassis/suspension/drivetrain of the bronco is reassuring or not. I like the vague silhouette shapes we've seen, but that doesn't mean much since they didn't match.

The wheelbase of the Everest chassis is in the right range, but a little longer than I was hoping for, not that we can really even glean that it would be the same length as the Everest (112") even if that is presumably what the early mules were. If it was longer than the 4Runner (110") with IFS, that would be very disappointing -- but if it was shorter than the JLU (118") with solid axles that would be quite encouraging.

Again, we know nothing (Jon Snow) -- just more rampant random speculation.

 

[- BRONCOPP -]

Report Alleges New Ford F-150 Will Arrive Before Bronco.
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If the report is true, a new truck should be just around the corner.

Here’s some interesting news for Blue Oval fans. Off-Road.com is reporting that it uncovered a plan from Ford calling for a new F-150 pickup to arrive before it reveals the new Bronco. There’s no other confirmation on this alleged timeline so we only have Off-Road.com’s take on the subject to go by, but if the report is accurate, a new F-150 should be right around the corner because we know the Bronco is coming for 2020.

Considering what we do know, the report does make sense. The F-150 received a facelift in 2017 for the 2018 model year, but the current generation actually dates back to 2015. In the fast-moving, lucrative world of trucks in the U.S. that could be a lifetime ago, and we’re sure Ford executives are acutely aware of the brand-new half-ton trucks Chevrolet and Ram unveiled this year.

There’s no question Ford has a new F-150 in the works, but to the automaker’s credit, we haven’t caught a single prototype testing. We did catch a plug-in hybrid model on the road nearly two years ago, but it was a powertrain mule wearing current-generation F-150 skin. We've nabbed spy photos of the beefy Ford Super Duty, but the F-150’s big brother looks to be getting a facelift instead of all-new bones.

Then there’s the Bronco, which Ford has specifically said would arrive for 2020. Therein lies another question – does 2020 mark its debut, or when it will go on sale? That’s a significant question that could vary the timeline by up to a year. If it’s slated to hit dealer showrooms in 2020, the Bronco will debut next year. Considering we haven’t seen even a hint of an F-150 prototype yet, it’s unlikely the pickup could arrive first. That would mean the Bronco won’t debut next year as we thought, but in 2020 as a 2021 model. That would give ample time for a new F-150 to hit the scene.

Of course, this is all dependent on Off-road.com’s report being accurate. In any case, we’ll keep our eyes peeled for camo-wrapped trucks hitting the roads around Dearborn.

 

[Stampede.Offroad]

Report Alleges New Ford(s) ... Will Arrive Before Bronco.
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If the report is true, a new truck should be just around the corner.

The actual revealed information said "F-Series", and we know the super-duty is coming for the 2020 model year. Not a big surprise. The 150 part was pure speculation on part of the author of the article, and he said so himself.

There was also no timeline given at all, just a sequence, so that could mean: Explorer in Detroit (JAN), Super Duty in Chicago (FEB), and Bronco in New York (APR). Or it could mean all three of them In Detroit, just in that order at different times or days -- the actual revealed information is quite vague.

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