Wrangler vs. Bronco sales Q2 2024

[HorizonHunter]

One possible reason for the Wrangler sales advantage ... here is the lowest price getting into each vehicle:

$39,630 - Bronco
$31,890 - Wrangler
$ 7,740 - difference

Personally I don't want the exclusivity. In my book, the more Broncos sold the better, for now and the future. I'd like Bronco to have a very long production run, to have lots of aftermarket and used parts available, and most definitely not be a big spender type of vehicle.

Unfortunately the Bronco prices are not looking good in that regard. Hoping someday the base model comes back.

But almost no dealer stocks the base price versions. I'd guess outside of us that really care any look at the differences, the Wrangler still just holds more cache in the public eye. Will take a long time to dethrone. I'm actually surprised the Bronco is as close as it is.

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[Brian_B]

Jeep has been very aggressively pricing things lately (and Stellantis in general is in trouble).

There have been some Bronco discounts (finally) but they haven't been huge. Ford had a bad year but that was based mainly on recall costs weighing down their financials and huge EV investments that they are pivoting on.

 

[mattymik]

This honestly continues to surprise me. I’ve had several Jeep owners tell me my Bronco has much better road manners and is much more comfortable to drive. And since it’s still so much more rare, I’d think of that as a positive, personally.

Obviously any marginal difference in rock crawling or departure angles or whatever isn’t going to matter to 99% of the population.

But my guesses for the discrepancies in sales:

1. Jeep still a lot of legacy clout, which helps in a lot of ways e.g. people who “always wanted a Jeep”, while most people don’t have enough awareness of Bronco due to shorter recent history and lack of marketing for Broncos

2. I really think people perceive Bronco as being much more expensive than Jeeps. I would be willing to bet that lots of people never even price out the Bronco. I’ve had quite a number of people look at me like I must be rich for owning a Bronco, even when they drive cars that are as expensive or more expensive.

 

[broncorik]

I doubt they regret it. It was a good trim to launch a vehicle with because of the low price point. But it was their least popular of the "normal" trims, and after a few years that Base trim has to compete with the used Bronco market. Sales would have continually fallen as time goes on.

The Wrangler Sport is also their least popular trim, but obviously the Wrangler is a hugely important product for the Jeep brand. It is basically THE iconic Jeep product and their second best-selling vehicle after the Grand Cherokee. Getting rid of the Wrangler Sport would be similar to Ford getting rid of the F-150 XL.


Heh, always makes me laugh when people say Jeeps are so much cheaper because... they're just... not.

• Big Bend / Sport S
  • Ford: $40,370
  • Jeep: $40,690
• Black Diamond / Willys
  • F: $44,070
  • J: $44,590
• Outer Banks / Sahara
  • F: $47,190
  • J: $49,790
• Badlands / Rubicon
  • F: $51,395
  • J: $51,890
• Wildtrak / Rubicon X
  • F: $60,785
  • J: $61,295

But many Ford dealers are still into price gouging. The folks who are aware of the Tread Lightly program can order a Jeep the exact way they want it, and then go and pick it up after it arrives for at least 1% below dealer INVOICE...and when I was Cross shopping one of the Jeep dealerships in the LA area offered me the Jeep I had built at 5% below dealer invoice. My Bronco drives far better on the road, but I will say that even my TJ would have gone places my Bronco wouldn't have without putting a lot of money into it (or at least a steering rack).

 

[voxel]

2. I really think people perceive Bronco as being much more expensive than Jeeps. I would be willing to bet that lots of people never even price out the Bronco. I’ve had quite a number of people look at me like I must be rich for owning a Bronco, even when they drive cars that are as expensive or more expensive.

I mean buying a new car is fiscally irresponsible.

 

[KT_bronco]

Both Ford and Jeep need to get their pricing in order. They seem to have forgotten where they are in the automotive pecking order.

"Premium off-roaders" is a slide on some marketers power point I'm sure.

 

[Trigger]

I am surprised at the Bronco's on the lot. I pass a small town dealer on my way to work everyday with 11 Broncos sitting there. Raptor, heritage, 2Dr, 4Dr., etc.

Strange to see after waiting over two years for mine.

 

[GroovyGeek]

For the casual buyer the brand recognition of the Bronco is non existent. Heck, I drove a Wrangler for 10+ years and the only thing I knew about the Bronco was O.J. Didn't even know you can wheel it, I always assumed it is just a road SUV.

With that said, I don't know how a casual buyer who cross shops both ends up with a Wrangler, other than price for the lowest trim. It is just a shitty daily driver. For that buyer a Bronco or a 4Runner is a much more functional choice. But yes, Ford dis screw up with the pricing, which went up too fast. Nothing else drives that 14% yoy decline.

 

[Dads_bronze_bronco]

Ford is selling fewer at greater cost having not had loyal customers buying the Bronco for >20 years.

and more aggressively marketed it

I think advertising has a lot to do with it. I see Jeep ads featuring Wranglers and Gladiators top off and having fun often.

I also think Ford is building about all they can given top constraints and shared production line.

 

[DFFam]

Q2 sales 77,204 Wranglers (-9.0%), 50,153 Broncos (-14.4%).

Wrangler holds a strong 50% or so sales advantage. I don't mind that as I personally would like the Bronco to be more exclusive. Same with Bronco having roughly a 50% more YoY decline in sales. Both down due to economy, but more so Bronco.

I like the exclusivity, but makes me wonder why both metrics show people prefer to buy Wranglers?

https://www.autoblog.com/article/2023-auto-sales-and-2024-preview-ford-bronco-vs-jeep-wrangler/

Jeep has a longer history and a longer cult following despite, Consumer Reports says that Jeep has some of the worst reliability ratings of any automaker . If the Ford Bronco improves and outperforms the Jeep in reliability they will start to out-sale the Jeep. I agree, I rather see fewer Broncos than more.

 

[STuff1]

Bronco sales have stalled. My local small town dealer has 19 on the lot and the new 23”s are marked down $10-$12k - wild tracks that sticker for $66k going for $52k. Makes my Bronco value drop but it tells me they are not selling well.

 

[Owl]

Well... the new EVERYTHINGS are all too expensive. Thanks for the inflation -- government! Glad I got my 22 2Dr Base with auto and V6 for $35K I'll be keeping it a long time.

 

[Zstngz]

I really like my Base 2 dr and don't regret it. Has everything I need

 

[NVCowboy]

I remember hearing the reasons for cancelling the Base model were due to constraints on the cloth seats, and the plastic steering wheels.

LOL. I forgot about that. Waking up in a world so screwed up that cloth cant be sourced. My brain immediately went to Ron White’s bit about his friend was "kickin back broth."

I was really all in on the Black Diamond interior. I really like the Sandstone Big Bend seats I ended up with, however. It's only carpet that makes me sad.

 

[buck_6G]

One possible reason for the Wrangler sales advantage ... here is the lowest price getting into each vehicle:

$39,630 - Bronco
$31,890 - Wrangler
$ 7,740 - difference

Personally I don't want the exclusivity. In my book, the more Broncos sold the better, for now and the future. I'd like Bronco to have a very long production run, to have lots of aftermarket and used parts available, and most definitely not be a big spender type of vehicle.

Unfortunately the Bronco prices are not looking good in that regard. Hoping someday the base model comes back.

If you check the TrueCar or KBB value for a 2022 Bronco 4D (using my SAS Badlands 2.3L ST w/ 19k miles as an example), I paid MSRP for my build - around $56k. The trade-in value is consistently estimated around $42k, while private party sale is hovering around $46-47k. That's roughly -10.5%/year for the first 2 years, or an ~79% residual value.

Production as of May and June sits at ~11k units built per month. You shouldn't have to wait long for the aftermarket supply to catch upy if production holds stead; I see Broncos on at least a third of the dealer lots I drive by here in Austin, including dealerships other than Ford.

Agree with you on a healthy aftermarket being a benefit for parts availability!

Personally, I don't care if everyone else is driving one. Yeah, it was fun being one of the early adopters and having people stop to take photos of it, but what other people drive doesn't effect how I enjoy my ride. I value it for the fun I get to have in it on/off road, and the endless potential for customization.

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