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

[HoosierDaddy]

And I expect we could see the next member of the Bronco family debut in the next 18 months (even if in concept form). @PREMiERdrum

EXCURSION based Bronco Tremor is COMING!!!!!

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[NTXBronc]

T

Not a Ford employee and certainly not acting in any official capacity. I spent a lot of years working in journalism and did a great deal of freelance writing for auto industry publications. Lots of good sources, a lifelong driver of Fords, and a personal investment with a 7/13 9:45pm Bronco 4 door reservation brought me here to share what I'm able to.

Thanks for the info! I'm a 7/13 9:43 FE reservation with no build date yet, hopefully today is the day!

 

[Lovecato]

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.

Sorry for my ignorance but how many shifts are there per day? Second, those of use who did not defer to 2022, what are the chances of getting our order in calendar year 2021, that is by Dec 2021?44647, member: 4030"]
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.
[/QUOTE]

 

[Dads_bronze_bronco]

Well yes, they should build the 21's before starting on the 22's. plus not to mention if someone has a '21 on order and gets pushed to '22, through no fault of their own, then it should be build before some one who CHOOSE to wait till '22. That would just make sense to me. But one never knows what might happen.

If I reserved a '21 and they don't have a MIC top until '22 then I should get mine before the guy who wanted to wait until '22 for a white or MOD top. makes sense ....... yes ?????

What about those people who have already been forced into 22 because something Ford listed as an option in B&P is now 22? 99’ers are mostly there because something slipped, not “well I feel like waiting”. How does Ford discern between those already screwed into 2022 from those about to be screwed into 2022 from the I’ll just wait and see crowd?

 

[Compta38]

You must be new. Dealer allocations and priority orders were not part of the communication. Months of speculating about dealer allocations were discussed and no one corrected the confusion. Tell me what the purpose of priority orders is and when it was disclosed to the people who tried all night to get their orders in on the opening day. Your right I'm not normal, I use my brain to think for myself. Ironically, in an earlier post you yourself were Taking a position against Ford. Were you not?

I quote:
"I bet a campaign by real customers telling Ford their marketing company they hired is making fun of their customers wouldn't go over too well. It's not to late to stop the silliness and start over. As dumb as you think the Ford customers are they can always smell poo poo."

Would you have reserved then ordered if you knew about allocations and priority orders ahead of time? If answer is yes then you can shut up and quit whining now. If answer is no you can cancel, get your $100 refund, shut up and quit whining now.

 

[shimmy825]

My question is - if I have a priority code 19 on my order, does that indicate that I might still get a MY21 in calendar year 21? or am I definitely SOL? My reservation was converted on 06/09/2021 08:52:23

 

[kje22kje]

I surely hope majority of reservation holders receive their Broncos before dealerships begin to sell in-house. I would definitely be a bit salty having Jimmy pull up in one saying he bought it at so and so dealership in September when there are still thousands of individuals waiting on theirs to come in.

Then gird your loins because there will be some for sale at dealerships before many reservations get them. Remember, someone could drop out of their order and the dealer can still take delivery. Just take solace in knowing that Jimmy probably paid a pretty significant markup on his to get it early. You may also have that chance should you choose to take it.

 

[kje22kje]

Yes, well if that happens, Ford will have shown itself to be as incompetent as they're being accused of on the daily. And I will eat the crow I would richly deserve.

See my point above. It's going to happen because folks drop out. Doesn't require any crow on your part.

 

[Tdifonzo]

Appreciate the info, but will never understand why Ford didn't get the soft top option for the two-door out to avoid all this. Seems like a lot of arrogance that isn't helping the already bad situation is rolling down from the top.

Yeah, as soon as the MOD top wasn't going to be available they should have offered a soft top for the 2 door. Now if I want a MY2021 and a MOD top I have to get the MIC top and end up with 2 tops. And I won't be able to sell the MIC top unless someone wants to downgrade from a MOD to MIC in the future. It's a scam.

 

[Tricky Dick]

I feel like Levine could be pretty busy...I also think he did a really good job of communicating with the customer base. just an opinion.

I actually don't mind him. He has the whole brand to look after, not just Bronco, and he has to be careful what he says.

 

[Eason]

Thanks for the update!! All the features that are causing delays are in my build, so I'm being very patient. It's going to be worth the wait!!

 

[North7]

Hiring the two actors to play outdoorsy types...

was dumb from a marketing standpoint.

Priceless

 

[Eason]

And I expect we could see the next member of the Bronco family debut in the next 18 months (even if in concept form). @PREMiERdrum

EXCURSION based Bronco Tremor is COMING!!!!!

Don't you tease us!!!

 

[Dr.Detroit]

I actually don't mind him. He has the whole brand to look after, not just Bronco, and he has to be careful what he says.

expectations are hard to manage I would assume, this vehicle is not like others.. I am sure you can appreciate that tho right? This launch was nothing like I have seen in 50 years on my life. 30 plus in the industry also. again, just an opinion.

 

[King_Bronco0327]

The sticker generates about a week before your scheduled build day (not build week). This is also when your tracker will switch to "In Production" phase, as the parts are being sequenced for your build.

Once you reach this step there is very, very, very little chance of being bumped again.

The scheduled build day is the day your rig is scheduled to come off of final assembly.

How long was the gap between your build week email to build day email?

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