Bronco Hybrid Confirmed! by Ford CEO Jim Farley (4/2/26)

[jbob5059]

The crying in this thread is fricken crazy. No one is forcing you to buy a hybrid, you can continue to drive your inferior drivetrain all you want!

Me personally, I'd be the first one signed up to trade in for an extended range ev version.

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[Beach_Bum]

Ford folks hinted at the possibility of a hybrid Bronco when the 6G first launched.

I'm more interested in how they were only going 37 mph @ 3900 rpms. Were they standing on the brake also?

 

[Area51BS]

My only concern is reliability. It will certainly have problems. And cost of repair.

 

[Ducati1098]

I missquoted. Went back to look at my source and it was all electrified powertrains (hybrid, EV, PHEV) outsold ICE in Q4 2025. Hybrids themselves are holding steady at around 20% of the new vehicle market.

Is that globally? Because for the US, from what I see, electrified vehicles did reach an all time high Q4 but only at 26% (22% overall for 2025) of light-duty vehicle sales. Not even close to ICE only which was still very far ahead with 74%.

 

[NC_Pinz]

Too many humbugs...I welcome another drivetrain option in the Bronco. I'd like see the Bronco line be sustainable and investment by Ford in developing new drivetrains is a good thing. If tuned for it, a hybrid drivetrain to support overlanding would be great. No I won't be buying one...I'll be sticking with my little 4 banger that sounds like a small tractor running. Why? Because it is paid for and I want to retire at some point.

No they aren't going to put a V8 in a new Bronco. Guys get over it. If you want one, pick a used one up and enjoy. I'd love to see one, but the chances of that happening are close enough to zero to call it zero.

 

[CitrusBronco]

Toyota has stated that its truck hybrids are designed for power, not efficiency. Look at Ford's own hybrid F-150. Markedly improved fuel economy over the gas version.

And again, the market data doesn't bear that out. People don't like paying a lot every month for the privilege to get around. Even with the deregulation going on, hybrids are rising. For many, it's now the default choice.

If we were talking EVs, I'd see your point, but we're talking a proven technology with few downsides that most people want.

Toyota is held up as the leader in this market and why I used that example.

The user data on the hybrid f150 shows 2-3 mpg gain over the 2.7 ice is average.
The mpg gain from the current tech sucks. More expensive, weight, complexity for very little gain.

I don’t dislike tech, advancement or growth, I’d love to fill my tank for less$ or 60% less often but that tech has not come to market.
What people want and what’s available are very different at this point.
If Ford is able to overcome this I will be in.

 

[CitrusBronco]

The crying in this thread is fricken crazy. No one is forcing you to buy a hybrid, you can continue to drive your interior drivetrain all you want!

Me personally, I'd be the first one signed up to trade in for an extended range ev version.

No one is crying, but I see it’s hard for some to hear that the fabled escape from ice is still is in its infancy and not even remotely robust to do more than single digits improvements to mpg/range.
Im a buyer when the tech is there, whats on the market now is not it.

 

[Techun]

My only concern is reliability. It will certainly have problems. And cost of repair.

Hybrid vehicles currently are the most reliable and lowest cost to own cars. The Prius in general is insanely reliable. I took a cmax to 220k miles and there was not a single issue with the powertrain and in fact you save on things like belts, brakes, and other accessories.

 

[Techun]

Toyota is held up as the leader in this market and why I used that example.

The user data on the hybrid f150 shows 2-3 mpg gain over the 2.7 ice is average.
The mpg gain from the current tech sucks. More expensive, weight, complexity for very little gain.

I don’t dislike tech, advancement or growth, I’d love to fill my tank for less$ or 60% less often but that tech has not come to market.
What people want and what’s available are very different at this point.
If Ford is able to overcome this I will be in.

Comparing the f150 powerboost to the 2.7 is apples and oranges. The f150 is set up for capability, not efficiency. It can do things the gas f150 can not do.

430hp and 570ftlb, it should be compared to the mileage of the 5.0 or the 3.5 HO.

 

[Techun]

But the downside of a PowerBoost vehicle with its potential for incurring a $3000 to $8000 expense replacing the battery post warranty, would cause those like me to pass on it.

What would you think the likelihood of needing a new battery before 200k miles would be?

 

[flip]

What are they going to make hybrid an option that isn't already? Bronco, Bronco Sport, Ranger? They took away the vehicles (Escape, Edge) where traditional hybrid made sense and would've had a higher take rate (Maverick excluded), F150 hybrid, at least for us has been a turd and plagued with problems.

They absolutely must not go the plug in hybrid route, it's a complete waste for most markets. For the life of me, I and a lot of others in the automotive business can't believe we're still twiddling this electrification nonsense. If the tech, infrastructure and price point was there to where it's comparable to an ICE unit, maybe, but we aren't there yet. Full electric and plug in electric should've been a small niche offering they worked on for at least 10 years instead of making one ev car and thinking they were going to give Musk one what for.

They still haven't shown the new skateboard platforms yet so those may be another fail to add to Farley's tenure which will hopefully be coming to an end soon.

 

[MayhemMike]

A lot of old fuddy duddies wanting dinosaur tech for less

Hybrid vehicles currently are the most reliable and lowest cost to own cars. The Prius in general is insanely reliable. I took a cmax to 220k miles and there was not a single issue with the powertrain and in fact you save on things like belts, brakes, and other accessories.

May the case but using a vehicle that was engineered as a hybrid from day one as a comparison to vehicles being adapted to the hybrid drivetrain might be a tad bit of bias results.

 

[MayhemMike]

I enjoy feeding my 1970 Mach 1 high octane dinosaur juice. I only wish I had a lower HP V8 in my 2022 Bronco.

 

[Area51BS]

Hybrid vehicles currently are the most reliable and lowest cost to own cars. The Prius in general is insanely reliable. I took a cmax to 220k miles and there was not a single issue with the powertrain and in fact you save on things like belts, brakes, and other accessories.

What year is the Prius? Hybrids have two systems to maintain. The ice repairs are basically a wash. How about the hybrid battery, electrical systems and cooling system for the battery. What is that cost of repair. Let’s use a Maverick for an example. Seems cheap when new with the incredible gas mileage. I also own a Maverick 2.0 and follow a MAV site. I wouldn’t call the hybrid unreliable. Has some issues. My real concern will be what happens in a few more years. We are on maybe year 4. Today’s manufacturers are really not trust worthy in my opinion.

 

[Sparky1337]

What are they going to make hybrid an option that isn't already? Bronco, Bronco Sport, Ranger? They took away the vehicles (Escape, Edge) where traditional hybrid made sense and would've had a higher take rate (Maverick excluded), F150 hybrid, at least for us has been a turd and plagued with problems.

They absolutely must not go the plug in hybrid route, it's a complete waste for most markets. For the life of me, I and a lot of others in the automotive business can't believe we're still twiddling this electrification nonsense. If the tech, infrastructure and price point was there to where it's comparable to an ICE unit, maybe, but we aren't there yet. Full electric and plug in electric should've been a small niche offering they worked on for at least 10 years instead of making one ev car and thinking they were going to give Musk one what for.

They still haven't shown the new skateboard platforms yet so those may be another fail to add to Farley's tenure which will hopefully be coming to an end soon.

South Africa already has a plug in hybrid ranger that’s got ~30 miles of electric only range. Since the Bronco platform is similar, it would make sense to use most of those engineered parts.

I think the Bronco could do well with a mild hybrid system like the maverick, but idk if a plugin version like the Ranger would do well weight wise. The truck is already missing interior options based on trim and gross weight.

And for the folk all up in arms about longevity and charging time, these problems have been figured out. Ford just likes to take creative cost cutting a little too far. Looking at you Mach e HVJB…….

I think a hybrid is a smart move. I’m just gonna be mad as they’ll never offer a manual with it.

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