Unique Ford Bronco Sport for China spied?

[Sherminator98]

8 hours ago, DeluxeStang said:

Stretching the wheelbase throws off the proportions and makes the vehicle harder to maneuver. There has to be a better way to meet CAFE standards that don't involve butchering the design. 

 

Yeah its called making it an EV

 

The longer wheelbase/larger footprint is just workaround for CAFE which is just going to be more onerous for the time being. 

 

So you can blame CAFE for making vehicles both larger and more expensive, because the amount of money to be able to make them meet CAFE destroys their abitily to be profitable, at least till EVs become more affordable 

[Sherminator98]

9 hours ago, akirby said:

It’s been said over and over that short wheelbase is a huge CAFE liability.  

 

So I was doing the math-

 

The Bronco Sport is 53.95 sq ft and using the Mondeo Sport its Footprint is 59.89 sq ft

 

I was looking at the CAFE charts, but not sure if it would make that big of an impact?

 

[akirby]

9 hours ago, ANTAUS said:

Didn't we hear from Ford, that they were wanting to do less 2 row crossovers, and focus more on 3 rows?

Not exactly.  Farley just said 2 row utilities were a commodity now.

[Sherminator98]

Another reason why sedans aren't going to be popular with manufactures 

 

[DeluxeStang]

1 hour ago, Sherminator98 said:

 

Yeah its called making it an EV

 

The longer wheelbase/larger footprint is just workaround for CAFE which is just going to be more onerous for the time being. 

 

So you can blame CAFE for making vehicles both larger and more expensive, because the amount of money to be able to make them meet CAFE destroys their abitily to be profitable, at least till EVs become more affordable 

Or a hybrid. 

[Sherminator98]

1 minute ago, DeluxeStang said:

Or a hybrid. 

 

I think its getting to the point that might not be even enough. Just using the Escape as an example, its 9 MPG increase combined vs the 1.5L Ecoboost, with all the savings for around town driving. So maybe PHEVs will be a better solution

 

On larger vehicles, like the F-150, the overall savings are minuscule and hybrids are just marketed as a power adder. 

[T-dubz]

10 hours ago, ANTAUS said:

Didn't we hear from Ford, that they were wanting to do less 2 row crossovers, and focus more on 3 rows?

I don’t understand this. Families continue to shrink. The average family size is 3.15 and the average household size is 2.51. Do vehicles really need to carry 2-3x the amount of people in your family/household?  Having a few vehicles with 3 rows makes sense, but two rows should be your bread and butter. I’m not trying to be a bus driver over here 😂.

[Sherminator98]

7 minutes ago, T-dubz said:

I don’t understand this. Families continue to shrink. The average family size is 3.15 and the average household size is 2.51. Do vehicles really need to carry 2-3x the amount of people in your family/household?  Having a few vehicles with 3 rows makes sense, but two rows should be your bread and butter. I’m not trying to be a bus driver over here 😂.

 

Don't under estimate people over buying vehicles. It explains why people are buying larger vehicles or pickups-just because hey it is nice to have a pickup to take junk to recycling 2x a year or bring home a big screen TV without needing it getting shipped to your house. Or when you get your crotch goblin from school and need to take their friends to sports practice or something like that.  

 

If you really want to get down to it, we only need one or two passenger vehicles because 75% of the time I'd venture to say that only one person is in a vehicle. 

[rmc523]

16 hours ago, bzcat said:

I think that this maybe actually the 2nd gen Bronco Sport.

 

Size wise, it is definitely bigger than current Bronco Sport. But next gen Bronco Sport would need to get bigger anyway because of CAFE so we can't rule out this is the next gen. The current one is 5 years old (production started in Fall 2020) so given Ford's typical 7 year model cycle, we could be seeing the next gen in 2026-27. Maybe Ford moved the redesign cycle up a bit because it will start in China first to replace Escape (and also because they don't have the current gen Bronco Sport).

 

The first generation of compact C2 vehicles are reaching the end of their service life... The first two we already know will not be replaced

• Focus is in its 7th year and it is going away by end of the year.
• Escape is entering its 6th year and we already know it will expire in 7 years without a replacement. 
• Bronco Sport in entering its 5th year and Ford hasn't said jack about its replacement but we know it will have one because it is part of the Bronco family tree which is protected from the axe. 
• Maverick is entering its 4th year and just got a midcycle update. 

 

Interesting thought!

 

15 hours ago, DeluxeStang said:

Here me out. The larger size, the very boxy shape... call it the flex. The flex is one of those models with a very strong cult following as far as three row crossovers go. I look at this, and see the flex name working well on it, and appealing to a lot of consumers. 

 

So slap the Flex name on something 2 sizes smaller than the old Flex?  Just to retain the name of a broadly unpopular model (owners loved them, including me, but the market as a whole didn't)?  I loved the Flex, but nah.....if anything, make a new body EV9-like model to be Flex.

 

This would just be Bronco Sport v2.

 

12 hours ago, Motorpsychology said:

10-4. "Flex" was an unfortunate name choice. Fairlane was the name of the 2005 concept that became the Flex; should've kept that name.

 

The Fairlane name would have done absolutely nothing for sales.....if anything, it sounds old and may have negatively impacted sales, IMO.

 

12 hours ago, DeluxeStang said:

Who said anything about ditching the bronco name all together? You still have the normal bronco, and the bronco sport. But we often have conversations on this site of not diluting sub-brands by having too many spin-offs of a particular name. 

 

If we want to replace the edge and to a lesser extent, the escape, with whatever this is, calling in a bronco in the states would likely result in greater consumer confusion. Calling it flex ties into another one of Ford's iconic products without diluting the bronco sub-brands, or confusing buyers. 

 

In this scenario/current thinking, they're saying this would replace our existing Bronco Sport, so there'd still only be 2 models.

 

10 hours ago, ANTAUS said:

Didn't we hear from Ford, that they were wanting to do less 2 row crossovers, and focus more on 3 rows?

 

Well, 1) that was Ford's plan last week, and 2) he said "commodity" products.....and their current line of thinking is that slapping "Bronco" on it makes it not commodity.

[akirby]

26 minutes ago, T-dubz said:

I don’t understand this. Families continue to shrink. The average family size is 3.15 and the average household size is 2.51. Do vehicles really need to carry 2-3x the amount of people in your family/household?  Having a few vehicles with 3 rows makes sense, but two rows should be your bread and butter. I’m not trying to be a bus driver over here 😂.

They didn’t say they couldn’t sell them or buyers didn’t want them.  They said mainstream 2 row crossovers have become commodities keeping prices low and margins even lower.  Bronco and Bronco Sport are the exception because they’re in a unique market segment with passionate buyers.  
 

Let’s say you’re a painter and you have the choice of two jobs.  Both take 2 days same work but one pays $1500 and the other pays $2500.  Which one are you taking?

[akirby]

9 minutes ago, rmc523 said:

 

current line of thinking is that slapping "Bronco" on it makes it not commodity.

No, making it look like a Bronco with rugged styling and off road performance to match makes it not a commodity.

[rmc523]

Just now, akirby said:

Let’s say you’re a painter and you have the choice of two jobs.  Both take 2 days same work but one pays $1500 and the other pays $2500.  Which one are you taking?

 

or option #3 (Ford's normal choice) - drop 3 products, and replace them with one*

 

 

*in 6 years....until Ford's plans change by then

[fordmantpw]

8 minutes ago, akirby said:

Let’s say you’re a painter and you have the choice of two jobs.  Both take 2 days same work but one pays $1500 and the other pays $2500.  Which one are you taking?

 

Neither.  I'd rather work at McD's for a month for the same money than paint for 2 days.  Ugh I hate painting!

[akirby]

1 hour ago, rmc523 said:

 

or option #3 (Ford's normal choice) - drop 3 products, and replace them with one*

 

 

*in 6 years....until Ford's plans change by then

Drop 3 products making $200M and replace them with 1 making $500M?  Any day.

 

Fusion/MKZ replaced by Maverick and Bronco Sport.

Focus replaced by Bronco and Ranger.

Ecosport replaced by Mach E.

 

Taurus and Continental were the only ones dropped outright recently due to low sales and market shrinkage without a replacement but they added Lightning and all the new EV development for future vehicles.  

[rmc523]

10 minutes ago, akirby said:

Drop 3 products making $200M and replace them with 1 making $500M?  Any day.

 

Fusion/MKZ replaced by Maverick and Bronco Sport.

Focus replaced by Bronco and Ranger.

Ecosport replaced by Mach E.

 

Taurus and Continental were the only ones dropped outright recently due to low sales and market shrinkage without a replacement but they added Lightning and all the new EV development for future vehicles.  

 

It's a joke.  Don't need the repeat explanation.

 

I do wish they'd re-enter some abandoned segments, though, and it does seem like it's possible (Mustang 4-door for instance).

[T-dubz]

1 hour ago, akirby said:

They didn’t say they couldn’t sell them or buyers didn’t want them.  They said mainstream 2 row crossovers have become commodities keeping prices low and margins even lower.  Bronco and Bronco Sport are the exception because they’re in a unique market segment with passionate buyers.  
 

Let’s say you’re a painter and you have the choice of two jobs.  Both take 2 days same work but one pays $1500 and the other pays $2500.  Which one are you taking?

Bigger vehicles explorer sized and up make complete sense. It’s when you get to smaller compact vehicles with 3 rows that I don’t get. No one with a large family buys a compact. I would never try to fit 7 people into a longer bronco sport. Hell I didn’t buy a current bronco sport because my kids were complaining about 2nd row leg room. That 3rd row would be useless and only adds cost to the vehicle and takes up storage space.

[akirby]

13 minutes ago, T-dubz said:

Bigger vehicles explorer sized and up make complete sense. It’s when you get to smaller compact vehicles with 3 rows that I don’t get. No one with a large family buys a compact. I would never try to fit 7 people into a longer bronco sport. Hell I didn’t buy a current bronco sport because my kids were complaining about 2nd row leg room. That 3rd row would be useless and only adds cost to the vehicle and takes up storage space.

I agree.  The 3rd row comment was strictly for China where that seems to be popular (3 row edge).  Don’t need it here.

[DeluxeStang]

21 minutes ago, T-dubz said:

Bigger vehicles explorer sized and up make complete sense. It’s when you get to smaller compact vehicles with 3 rows that I don’t get. No one with a large family buys a compact. I would never try to fit 7 people into a longer bronco sport. Hell I didn’t buy a current bronco sport because my kids were complaining about 2nd row leg room. That 3rd row would be useless and only adds cost to the vehicle and takes up storage space.

I get where you're coming from. I'll argue that the previous gen Toyota 4 runner with 3 row seating was the worst packaged modern vehicle on sale. Zero cargo space, my knees were chest height, had to angle my head to keep it from hitting the ceiling. Terrible vehicle, there wasn't a single good thing about that Toyota that made it worth buying, not one. 

[Motorpsychology]

On 5/7/2025 at 9:49 PM, DeluxeStang said:

Stretching the wheelbase throws off the proportions and makes the vehicle harder to maneuver. There has to be a better way to meet CAFE standards that don't involve butchering the design. 

What goes around comes around. Whereas the EPA regulations are based on the footprint i.e. wheelbase and track, build vehicles like we did 100 years ago, where the WB and track were external to the cabin. The EPA classification based on the WB  and tracks preserved, while keeping overall weight down by not enclosing the whole footprint with steel.

1925 Ford Model T Fordor:

 

[Sherminator98]

32 minutes ago, Motorpsychology said:

What goes around comes around. Whereas the EPA regulations are based on the footprint i.e. wheelbase and track, build vehicles like we did 100 years ago, where the WB and track were external to the cabin. The EPA classification based on the WB  and tracks preserved, while keeping overall weight down by not enclosing the whole footprint with steel.

1925 Ford Model T Fordor:

 

 

Don't think that would be possible due to crash standards

[jpd80]

People often forget about the consequence for third row passengers in a small compact utility.

those people, usually small adults or kids can be sitting less than a foot off the rear of the vehicle.

in a rear end crash, they have almost zero protection from impact forces and intrusion.

Edited May 9 by jpd80

[bzcat]

So I tracked down the original article on Autohome.com.cn and they had this picture of some kind of product presentation from Ford.

 

https://www.autohome.com.cn/news/202505/1305967.html#pvareaid=102624

 

 

It shows Ford's SUV strategy in China but has some very interesting stuff:

• Bronco Family (left side) with 2 new trim/special editions coming in 2025: "Big Sand Dune March 2025" [note: looks similar to US spec Wildtrak] and "Retro Edition 2nd half 2025" and below are the existing versions "Big Bend", "Black Diamond", "Outer Banks", "Bad Lands"
• Pickup Family with 3 new trim/special editions coming in 2025: "Sand Fox Edition January 2025" [note: it is FX4], "Sasquatch Limited Edition 2nd half 2025", and "Sasquatch 2nd half 2025" and below are the existing versions "1st Edition", "Landtrak", "Exploration", "Forest" (I think Forest is the base model)
• Raptor Family with 2 new model coming: "Bronco Raptor 1st half 2025", F-150 Raptor 1st half 2025"
• Urban SUV (that's what they call CUV in China) with 1 new model coming: "All new active lifestyle SUV", and below the two existing CUV model Equator Sport and Equator
• New Energy SUV with 1 new model coming: "New energy Bronco in 10-12 month", and below is the current Equator PHEV

 

The "All new active lifestyle SUV" is obviously the one in the spy photo. 

 

The "New energy Bronco" didn't say PHEV but I'm fairly certain it will be PHEV not EV because we know Ranger PHEV exists. 

 

What is notable here is what is missing... no Explorer, no Edge, no Escape, no Mach E. They don't appear in Ford's long term plan in China.

Edited May 10 by bzcat

[Sherminator98]

56 minutes ago, bzcat said:

 

• Bronco Family (left side) with 2 new trim/special editions coming in 2025: "Big Sand Dune March 2025" [note: looks similar to US spec Wildtrak] and "Retro Edition 2nd half 2025" and below are the existing versions "Big Bend", "Black Diamond", "Outer Banks", "Bad Lands"

 

I'm guessing its the coastal edition trim we are getting for the Bronco here. 

[Sherminator98]

1 hour ago, bzcat said:

 

 

The "New energy Bronco" didn't say PHEV but I'm fairly certain it will be PHEV not EV because we know Ranger PHEV exists. 

 

 

Going by the horribly translated comments (which one was anti EV, which I found hysterical)-Maybe this new Energy Bronco might be an EREV? Which would explain the new part about it. 

[bzcat]

15 hours ago, Sherminator98 said:

 

Going by the horribly translated comments (which one was anti EV, which I found hysterical)-Maybe this new Energy Bronco might be an EREV? Which would explain the new part about it. 

 

Not a lot of clue but it will be a real kick in the pants if China got the PHEV or EREV Bronco and we don't... Bronco really needs a boost in MPG (or get much wider/longer) or it will start to cost Ford a lot in CAFE penalty. I am not optimistic that the 2 door will stick around beyond 2026 or 2027 unless the entire model range switches to hybrid or PHEV.

Edited May 10 by bzcat