With Bronco, Ford seeks to steal a chunk of Wrangler’s market share

Ford Motor Co. views the Bronco as a important piece of its very long-brewing turnaround underneath CEO Jim Hackett. Designers used five several years — a stretch in which Jeep marketed far more than a million Wranglers in the U.S. — building an SUV that would both spend homage to its abundant heritage and clearly show off the most recent systems.

Numerous features had been extra to one particular-up Jeep, these as the 35-inch tires involved in the Bronco’s Sasquatch package deal that are 2 inches bigger than the most significant out there on the Wrangler. Unlike the Wrangler, the Bronco’s removable doorways can be saved in the back, and the open-air roof is not bisected by a cross bar.

And if the message was not clear sufficient, COO Jim Farley bluntly instructed traders this calendar year the Bronco would be “a a lot superior item” to the Wrangler.

Right after several years of buildup, the Bronco’s debut was properly-gained.

Famous people and athletes tweeted glowing remarks about the SUV just after it was unveiled virtually on ABC and other Disney-owned Television set networks. The web-site using $100 deposits crashed underneath what Ford named a “stampede of targeted visitors,” and reservations for the Bronco Very first Version — minimal to three,five hundred copies — crammed up in fewer than a working day.

“From both a technological evaluation and an emotional reaction viewpoint, this matter appears to be like like it will have a really excellent shot at converting current Jeep proprietors into Bronco prospective buyers and will undoubtedly transform non-Jeep standard lovers of off-roading,” automotive analyst Karl Brauer stated in an job interview. “But obtaining a backlog of interested functions ahead of the motor vehicle comes at dealerships is not that difficult to do. The winners are the kinds that have a solid amount of demand from customers 6 months, twelve months just after the cars and trucks are out there.”