I wish I had a great answer for you.
I get what your saying Nick, I respect the hell outta you and your posts...
The choice and chance. Which is more important delivery date or possibly feeling more assured of your transaction?
I read that quickly and thought you said "I respect the hell outta your pants"!
Mine will be late delivery regardless...SAS, 2.7 and Lux...I checked the 3 (would've been 4 if I stuck with my Wildtrak reservation) extended wait time boxes.
First, I want to thank the large contingent of passionate enthusiasts on Bronco6G for their welcoming attitude towards us as a dealership. This reception is humbling and we will continue to do our best to be an asset to the community.
I would be remiss if I did not thank Ford as well. While it is easy to complain on the consumer side of the table. They are bringing to market a SUV that invokes passion from a wide collection of people. This has been accomplished through a set of circumstances that no one could see coming. With Covid-19, and the uncertainty that showed the automotive industry in March/April. The huge supply constraints that have faced all industries with parts backorders and short availability on new car inventory. This has been a challenging time.
But Ford has certainly gotten it right where it counts. The Ford Bronco inspires passion unlike countless examples of nameless mid-size SUVs from other brands. This is a great thing, because if no one cares you aren’t doing your job correctly. I don’t think Ford has received enough credit for this. Selfishly this has been a great opportunity for our store and we are very blessed to be a part of it. While running through the challenges that this opportunity brings can certainly be frustrating at times, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that we’re fortunate to be in this position.
Now for the Number 1 question I have received and I’m sure that is one everyone’s mind is “WHEN WILL I RECEIVE MY (insert date of reservation) BRONCO?
What do we know?
- Ford has announced on multiple occasions that they have over 190,000 reservations. There are also articles cited from July 31st that the Bronco had achieved 150,000 reservations at that point. From our data we have (pre-October special) this is the rough reservations we have by date prior to our October special.
I would think our data is a good sample of the rest of the nation. The graph above shows percentages based upon dates in July. So as you can see we received roughly 14% of our reservations on July 13th, 20% on July 14th 10% on July 15th then started to taper down to 6%, 4% then 3%. Others have posted on this in the past with a more extensive data set. But roughly 50% of all reservations were made within the 13th-16th time frame in July from our data set.
- Automotive new has quoted Mark LaNeve at one point stating that, “over 75% of the roughly 165,000 refundable deposits will be converted to sales”
- There will be commodity restrictions on high demand items. Sasquatch, Lux Package, 2.7L V6, among other items will be restrained.
- The production of cars can be a confusing process. We are a dual-franchised store with FCA as our other brand we carry. We ordered 2 Retail order 2500s for customers that are currently in-transit to our store and both in the same estimated arrival date currently. One order was placed on 11-16 the other order was placed on 9-16. The order placed on 11-16 was for an item with more “high demand” and with commodities that should be harder to get than the 9-16 order.
- Some dealers have reported approximately 30% of their reservations as their initial estimated allocation. 190,000 x 30% = 57,000 production units.
What do we do with this information?
- The number 1 impact on total allocation will be the number of reservations converted to orders and the second factor isn’t close. If 75% of reservations convert to orders that equals 142,500 Broncos or over 1 year of production capacity (roughly 15 months estimate). If that drops to 50% that would put production at 95,000 orders or 25% would put production at 47,500.
- Dealer Allocation – Dealer allocation will play a part in overall Bronco ordering. There has been some misinformation about what allocation is and how it works. Allocation is a commitment between Ford and the dealer on how many vehicles the dealer will order and get produced for that dealership. This does impact reservation holders where a dealership will not be able to get a vehicle scheduled without the allocation first. Right now, Ford’s initial allocation is based upon Ford’s best “guess” on how many orders convert. The final number will be announced in April. The conundrum for the customer is that you need to commit to a dealer before finalizing your order which ends March 19th.
- Commodity Restraints – This will absolutely play a big part in the timing of your order. Imagine a scenario with two order placed at exactly the same time on 7/14. One order is a big bend 4 door, the other a Wildtrack 4-Door with leather seating. It could potentially be months difference in delivery timeframe because of the options that someone chooses.
- It is my opinion that Ford is estimating high on the conversion percentage. I can certainly understand why, because they have to plan for that amount of production and I would estimate high if I was in that position. I see the fulfillment rate coming in close to 40-50% when all is said and done. That would put total reservations converted around 85,000 at 45% and would allow approximately 75% of the total allocation to be scheduled as 21 MY Broncos. Regardless of where you stand, I hope to have provided enough information to provide you the ability to make the determination and decision for yourself based upon the data.
In conclusion, the uniqueness and customization of the Bronco is one of the reasons that customers are drawn to the car. You can make it uniquely yours and like no other Bronco on the road. Just as unique is the motivation that everyone has to purchase their Bronco. Some want to be the soonest. Some want to make sure they get exactly what they want without compromise regardless of timing. Yet others want to find the best deal out there. This is a good talking point with your dealership of choice and I’m sure they will work with you to make sure you are taken care of properly.
For our customers we really appreciate you choosing us. As we have always been we want to be as customer centered as possible. It would be foolish of me to guarantee anything that I cannot stand behind. We will commit to working with every customer based upon their motivation to purchase as best as possible. We are excited for the ride and thank you for the opportunity to earn your business!
-Zach
As has been stated, ad nauseam, time and again, the reservations are listed in UTC. Your timezone is irrelevant.
I would prefer that as well. My state (NC) does not have a front plate, so I definitely don't want a bracket installed....especially if it looks as bad as folks say
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Not looking for a fight in any way. Just want to make sure my friends are in good shape and have a full picture of what’s going on. It seems like Granger is not willing to divulge their reservation or allocation numbers which at the end of the day is up to them. Now Granger customers at least know they will not be providing that information publicly.
