- First Name
- Sean
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2020
- Threads
- 19
- Messages
- 779
- Reaction score
- 2,006
- Location
- San Francisco
- Website
- www.serramonteford.com
- Vehicle(s)
- '21 Ford Bronco Big Bend, '03 BMW Z4
- Your Bronco Model
- Big Bend
Well put.Now, I certainly understand your frustration and I'm not arguing that things could have been more clearly communicated. But....
1. The production is dependent upon what the demand is for the Ranger as well because the vehicle is made in the same plant. I've read the argument about Ford making 700,000+ F-150s a year why can't they handle these Broncos? Tthere are two plants that make the F-150 full time and nothing else. The Bronco is sharing a plant with the Ranger so 2 vehicles are produced out of the same facility. The Ranger sales have been strong and they aren't going to walk away from that segment.
The Wrangler has a very loyal customer base and sells approximately 240,000 units annually. Ford planning for 120,000 units is more than reasonable and very aspirational to capture 50% of that market. Many would say 2 years ago that plan would be very aggressive. The underproduction is also a benefit for customers in the long-term. I can see a scenario where a customer purchases a Bronco from us and sells it for more than they pay for 6 months later. This will help residuals and trade-in values down the road as well.
2. Covid has messed things up and thrown a huge wrench into their plans. We are a Jeep dealership as well. I couldn't order any Jeep Compass SUVs or Renegade SUVs this month because of a microchip shortage. This is all tied to Covid supply issues.
The change in allocation methodology was certainly a surprise as it was not what we were told initially. If a dealership got 1000 Mach E reservations, to my knowledge they would receive those and not be limited. The Bronco blew away expectations on reservations and I don't think anyone at Ford would argue that they expected this overwhelming of a response. It is a good problem to have, but I won't argue there were missteps along the way certainly.
To back Zach up on the Allocation:
The methodology for Bronco allocation was indeed a surprise, but I think in the end it's the best solution for customers as well as all dealers. Ford knew that they weren't going to be able satisfy all reservations in the first production year, so to make it fair to the customers (and dealers), they adjusted the way the production was distributed. If the normal allocation system was in play, a small town dealer like Granger would have received far less allocation regardless of how many reservations they have. My understanding is the Mach-E supply is higher than the demand, so Ford can give every dealer their reservations and more, so it's easy to just fulfill each dealer's reservations. The opposite is true with Bronco, demand outstrips supply on a magnitude of 3(based on the reservations all converting).
Some folks on the forum don't realize how well Ford has put this together. This has been the most transparent launch I've seen in 10 years at my dealership. The fact that forum members know more about the ordering and allocation process than my salespeople is a testament to just how transparent Ford has been, and has allowed us to be. Having build and price up 8 months before production begins, inside info via B.N., prototype walkarounds, videos of pre-production vehicles, and lest us forget Ford made on-the-fly functional and design changes based on customer feedback. That doesn't happen to a vehicle not handmade by a boutique luxury manufacturer.
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