USA TODAY International Edition
Demand for Ford Bronco gallops past expectations
No reservation? No Bronco. Demand for the 2021 Ford Bronco SUV is so strong that Ford doesn’t expect to fill all customer orders into 2022, the company told the Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network.
The Bronco, a bestselling vehicle resurrected for the first time since it ended production 25 years ago, is being built to order initially.
People who have placed reservations are at the front of the line.
If you plan to wait until the SUV arrives in dealer showrooms, well, think again. If you want to own a Bronco anytime within the next two years, make your move soon.
Smart tip: Know what to expect and how to plan ahead.
An estimated 150,000 reservations poured into Ford just two weeks after the big Bronco reveal, Chief Operating Officer Jim Farley said during an earnings call July 30. By mid- August, the company updated its reservation total to more than 165,000.
And now, no one outside of Ford knows exactly what the total is. A Ford spokesman declined to update the expectations- shattering figure.
The price for the two- door 2021 Bronco begins at $ 29,995 for the base model, including destination fees. The fourdoor base model is $ 34,695 including fees.
Potential buyers who have gone online to ford. com and placed a reservation with a $ 100 refundable payment are the only people who may have access to the vehicles when they start getting delivered in spring 2021. While Ford will do its best to fill as many orders as possible in 2021, some customers may end up getting them in 2022.
In mid- October, Ford plans to allow Bronco reservation- holders into the system and custom- design their twodoor or four- door Bronco. This is known as the build, price and spec process. Official orders will need to be placed by the end of January 2021, and at that point buyers will select their dealer of choice.
During this process, the order program will suggest nearby dealers based on the ZIP code of the customer. In a twist, the customers will choose their dealers rather than the dealers inviting people to shop in the first year.
“Our dealers tell us they haven’t seen this level of enthusiasm for a new product since the original Mustang,” Ford spokesman Said Deep told the Free Press. “Due to the unprecedented level of interest, we plan to build customer orders only in the 2021 calendar year. We will continue to add new appearance and feature choices, including paint colors and special editions, for customers that have a longer wait.”
He urged patience, emphasizing that the company wants to get the vehicles into the hands of drivers “as soon as possible.”
No one knows how may of the orders placed reflect real orders, which influences a complicated supply chain process that Ford must monitor.
While Ford CEO Jim Hackett has touted the orders and the popularity of the vehicle, Farley – who becomes CEO on Oct. 1 – told industry analysts the company takes very seriously the situation and logistics involved.
For context, the highly popular Jeep Wrangler sold 228,042 in 2019. Farley has predicted the Bronco will fight for Wrangler buyers.
Ford told dealers in February, before the COVID- 19 shutdown, that it plans to sell an estimated 200,000 Bronco family vehicles in 2021, including the smaller Bronco Sport, which is made in Mexico and arrives in dealerships by December. The company did not break out Sport sales expectations.
“It’s clear the Bronco has really struck a chord, appealing to buyers beyond core off- roading enthusiasts. With ever- growing interest in SUVs, over-landing and classic automotive nameplates, it’s beyond the right car at the right time,” said Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars. com, a car listing and data site. “It’s the perfect product, perfectly timed.”
That’s the good news.
“The bad is that this kind of serendipity, and the inevitable demandvs.- supply issues that come with it, has created a backlog of orders,” he said. “It puts Ford under a lot of pressure.” But that’s not all, Brauer warned. “There’s a dicey component to intense interest in a vehicle – it can fade as quickly as it builds,” he said.