DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. has scrapped plans to construct a pickup model of the Bronco off-road SUV, based on two sources educated concerning the choice.
The automaker deliberate to introduce a Bronco-based pickup in 2024 however in current months has knowledgeable suppliers this system was canceled, the sources advised Automotive Information. It was to be constructed on the similar plant that assembles because the Bronco SUV and Ranger pickup in Wayne, Mich.
Ford spokesman Mike Levine declined to touch upon the corporate’s future product portfolio however famous that “we proceed to see sturdy demand for our full portfolio of rugged vans and SUVs, together with Bronco-brand utilities and our bestselling Ford truck lineup.”
The corporate has by no means confirmed plans for a Bronco pickup.
The brand new automobile would have given Ford three pickups smaller than the F-150 — along with the Ranger and upcoming Maverick — and a direct competitor to the Jeep Gladiator. Nonetheless, it might have tremendously overlapped and sure harm gross sales of the equally sized Ranger, which Ford plans to proceed investing in with an upcoming 2023 redesign and anticipated Raptor variant.
Including what would have been one other gasoline-powered entry in its lineup additionally undermines an organization purpose: to generate 40 per cent of world gross sales with electrical automobiles by 2030, a goal Ford introduced in Might. The corporate has tremendously expanded electrification plans over the previous 12 months, together with backing a nonbinding federal goal of emissions-free automobiles representing half of gross sales by 2030.
Nonetheless, executives have indicated the household will develop past the two-door Bronco, four-door Bronco and Bronco Sport crossover provided now. Latest spy pictures have proven what seem like a Bronco efficiency variant and a possible hybrid mannequin beneath growth.
Early reception to the brand new automobiles has been constructive. Ford has offered 62,820 Bronco Sports activities and 4,078 Broncos within the U.S. this 12 months by July, although early builds of the Bronco have been stricken by issues with roofs produced by the provider Webasto.
Ford has offered Bronco pickups up to now.
When the SUV was launched with the 1966 mannequin 12 months, it got here in three physique kinds, together with a “sports activities utility” that featured a closed cabin with an open mattress, with a promotional brochure noting its “double-walled rear space has over 32 cubic ft of area to your tenting or different gear.”
The “roadster” mannequin additionally had an open mattress with no roof over the cabin and non-obligatory rear seats.