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Ford cancels Bronco-based pickup


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Not sure how many they would have sold, but hate to hear this nonetheless:

Ford Motor Co. has scrapped plans to build a pickup version of the Bronco off-road SUV, according to two sources knowledgeable about the decision.

The automaker planned to introduce a Bronco-based pickup in 2024 but in recent months has informed suppliers the program was canceled, the sources told Automotive News. It was to be built at the same plant that assembles as the Bronco SUV and Ranger pickup in Wayne, Mich.

The new vehicle would have given Ford three pickups smaller than the F-150 — in addition to the Ranger and upcoming Maverick — and a direct competitor to the Jeep Gladiator. However, it would have greatly overlapped and likely hurt sales of the similarly sized Ranger, which Ford plans to continue investing in with an upcoming 2023 redesign and expected Raptor variant.

https://www.autonews.com/cars-concepts/ford-cancels-bronco-based-pickup?utm_source=breaking-news&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20210825&utm_content=hero-headline

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Unfortunate news, but it makes perfect sense to me. It looks like Ford intends to sell the next gen ranger raptor here. Offering two midsized trucks designed to be ultra off-road capable, while being similar in size and using the same platform, and presumably being comparable in price would have led to some pretty significant sales cannibalization imo. The bronco would have offered more macho looks and it obviously has a more iconic name, but there's nothing else that would have really distinguished it from the ranger raptor.

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This makes sense as demand for Bronco is outstripping the manufacturing plant's capacity.  I know how it goes.  I worked at Louisville Assembly when the first generation Explorer launched.  We couldn't keep up with demand.  At the time, we were building the 2 and 4 door Explorer along with the 2 door Mazda Navajo and Ford Ranger.  As Explorer demand continued to grow, dealers began demanding Ford abandon the Navajo to free up capacity for more Explorers.  The second generation Explorer was even more popular and Ford finally gave in and stopped production of the Navajo.  Being capacity constrained is both a blessing and a curse.

 

Adding in the Bronco pick up would have meant less Broncos could be produced.  It also adds complexity to the manufacturing process.  With future vehicles moving to a BEV platform it makes sense to drop the program now and perhaps revisit it in the future.

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2 hours ago, 7Mary3 said:

I would have cancelled the Ranger and made all the mid-size trucks Bronco derivatives.  They would be better looking if nothing else.

While that might sound sensible, the reality is that NG Ranger is coming for global before North America.

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2 hours ago, DeluxeStang said:

Yeah, their pickup lineup is solid, time for them to start investing more heavily in other segments.

Well we all know trucks are Fords bread and butter and a huge profit machine for them but I do agree with you. 

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2 hours ago, 7Mary3 said:

I would have cancelled the Ranger and made all the mid-size trucks Bronco derivatives.  They would be better looking if nothing else.

While that might sound sensible, the reality is that NG Ranger is coming for global before North America.

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I think a bronco truck would have sold pretty well. Hopefully this is a sign that the NG ranger is going to be bad ass.

 

I also think if the gladiator had a different design and better proportions, it would probably sell better. I would have liked to see something like this.6f602d0a0f95aa6b0d508bd4d8318733.jpg

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6 hours ago, Harley Lover said:

 

It's supposed to look like this: next-gen-ford-ranger-leak.jpg

Lights seem to be different on the production version. In the pic above, the headlights appear to be below the bars running through the grille and are horizontal, but spy shots show them vertical outside the bars.2023-ford-ranger-front-spy-photos.jpg18216_2023-ford-ranger-single-cab-spied-

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