In 2020, amid a global pandemic,
Ford finally launched a highly anticipated product that could restore a beloved brand
name, take on the off road SUV market, and rake in the
profits the company badly needs. The product is the Ford Bronco. The Bronco is a name that is
familiar to generations of car buyers, first introduced in the mid 1960s, it had
a tough, rugged image and symbolized an adventurous lifestyle many
Americans aspired to. It lasted for about three decades during
which it endured a fuel crisis and a changing U.S. car market that saw the rapid
influx of highly successful imports that challenge American car companies. After it was discontinued, it remained
a favorite vehicle for collectors and vintage car fans. And now it is back. And Ford is capitalizing on both
nostalgia and the heightened interest in SUVs and trucks. Ford is promoting the Bronco as an
off-road ready sport utility and has debuted a new "Built Wild"
brand campaign around it. Ford is already the strongest brand in
full sized trucks and has wowed the market with the Raptor, an innovative
off-road version of its best selling F-150 half ton pickup. But with the Bronco, Ford is going
head to head with another best selling brand, the Jeep Wrangler, which is
extremely well established in the off-road SUV segment. Ford is also releasing the Bronco
while the United States struggles through the coronavirus pandemic and
its resulting economic fallout. The poor timing is no fault of Ford. But with stiff competition and economic
strain, the question is, can the second largest U.S. automaker sell a vehicle it
has been hyping for years? This Bronco brand represents fun,
it represents off-road, it represents kind of some classic American
nameplate that goes way back. Those people who remember that history
and know that history, they're going to love seeing the
name plate come back. Ford traces the history of the Bronco
back to World War Two when the automaker competed for government contracts
to make military vehicles, Ford sold 275,000 GPW
jeeps during the war. But the Bronco itself didn't come out
for another 20 years, in the 1960s, during a transformative
time for Ford. As an aside, there is an early sketch
of the Bronco that was the handiwork of McKinley Thompson Jr., the first black
designer to be hired by any of the Detroit automakers. The Bronco project was led largely by
Don Frey, who had just overseen the launch of the now legendary Ford Mustang,
the small two door pony car that became a massive seller and
an iconic American car. The idea with Bronco was to build
a sturdy Jeep like vehicle that would also be able to handle on the
highway something other models at the time were not as strong at. International Harvester and Jeep CJ were
the only two kind of viable off-road vehicles in the early 60s. Ford did a lot of market research. We talked about thousands of Jeep owners
and thousands of Scout owners to find out what they like and
didn't like about the vehicles. And what we found out is they
weren't very good on the highway. When the Bronco came out, Frey said in
a press release that there was a new pony in the stable, referring to the
fact that both Mustang and Bronco took their names from
terms for horses. But the Bronco was not expected to
be the runaway success Mustang was. In the 1960s, the off-road vehicle
segment was a niche market. It was a vehicle
purpose built for recreation. The early Bronco was only available with
two doors, though there was a wagon version which did
have a rear seat. It had a spartan interior, no
air conditioning, and few other creature comforts. Over time, some
of those were added. The first generation Bronco was actually
rather small compared with those that came later. The vehicle was meant
to be updated with a larger footprint in the mid 1970s, but
the oil embargoes and fuel shortages delayed that plan. The larger Bronco finally did debut in
1978 and was based on the F-Series, Ford's long running and top selling
line of full size pickup trucks. The automaker tried to widen the product
lineup with a smaller version of the Bronco called the Bronco II. The vehicle was considered a flop, but
it was the precursor to the Explorer, which is now one of the
best selling SUVs of all time. In all, the Bronco ran for about
30 years before Ford pulled the plug. By the late 1990s, market tastes had
shifted and those who were buying Fords wanted the family friendly explorer
with its four doors, not the rough riding Bronco. However, throughout its three decade life,
the Bronco did develop a following. It was helped by Bronco's
reputation as a desert racing truck, exemplified by its performance in the
Baja 500 and Baja 1000 races. Bronco's got a real rich history in
off-road racing in particular at Baja. The vehicle behind me here is the Rod
Hall, the winning truck in '69 at the Baja 1000. It also garnered some
fame through popular culture. So when John Paul the second made his
first visit to the US, he was shepherded around during his public
visits in a modified Popemobile Bronco. And there's a great photo of
John Paul the second at Yankee Stadium waving to the crowd at
the back of his Bronco. Since its discontinuation, the vehicle has
become highly sought after by collectors. Vintage Broncos fetch high prices,
its cult status and racing history left it poised
for a resurrection. For Ford, bringing Bronco back is about
reviving a legendary name in a moment when so many customers are
turning toward sport utilities possibly for good. The Broncos primary target,
the Jeep Wrangler, is regarded by many in the industry as one of
the strongest brands in the entire automotive world. Apart from a few
other models, including perhaps pricey Land Rovers and the also pricey
Toyota Land Cruiser, the Wrangler is considered the tough off
road SUV to have. It has a worldwide reputation
for its ruggedness and quintessential American identity. It also has an almost
religiously devoted fan base. Fiat Chrysler Jeeps parent takes
its core market seriously. It also benefits from a
long history of continuous production. The Wrangler name has been around since
the mid 1980s, and its heritage is often traced all the way back to
the original Jeep models that were made as military vehicles during
World War Two. The Wrangler usually doesn't change much from
year to year, which could be said to be part of its appeal. The company does listen to its customers
and has the benefit of decades of continuous feedback from them on what
to improve to make the Wrangler sturdier and more capable
road name notwithstanding. The Bronco, on the other hand,
is an entirely new product. Industry analysts note it doesn't have
that long, unbroken history of customer input and
incremental product improvement. But Ford's chief operating officer, Jim
Farley, said in 2020 that the Bronco will be a superior
product to the Wrangler. Jeep sold about 228,000 wranglers in
2019 and 240,000 the year before. That seems like quite a lot, but
the question remains as to how many Wrangler buyers are likely to drop a
trusted brand they are devoted to and take a chance on something new. The Bronco does have its strengths. The vehicle is a traditional body on frame
SUV and it is built on the same platform as the Ranger,
Ford's midsize pickup. The Ranger itself is a revival, first
released for the 2019 model year. So that truck has not
been around that long either. But Ford's reputation in
pickup trucks is strong. So the Bronco may benefit from
that association and from the company's expertise in that corner
of the market. Ford's pickups, especially the F-150,
are considered the company's cash cow. The F-Series is not only the
best selling line of trucks in America, it is the best selling
line of vehicles overall. The F-150 accounts for
the bulk of that. The market for off-road vehicles is also
bigger than it was when the original Bronco debuted. However, Ford is releasing the vehicle at
what could prove to be a difficult time for automotive sales
and the economy overall. Some analysts say the Bronco could end
up like so many vehicles that have made a big splash during their debut, sold
strongly for a year or even a few years, and then watched their sales
fall as the shine wore off. Automotive economist John Gabrielson has charted
the rise and fall in volumes of several vehicles and different
segments that generated a lot of excitement when they were introduced. These include the short lived retro
experiments such as the Chevrolet HHR and SSR, and 11th generation
Ford Thunderbird, environmentally conscious vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf,
Chevrolet Volt hybrid and Bolt electric, and SUVs such as the once
popular but polarizing Hummer vehicles, which General Motors now plans to
reintroduce as an electric. Sales of these vehicles seemed to peak
very soon after they were introduced the first year or so
before they declined, sometimes rapidly. The Bronco has also drawn comparisons
with the Toyota FJ Cruiser, a purpose built SUV Toyota introduced in
2003, then pulled from the market after the 2014 model year. The vehicle was a hit with hard core
off-road fans and has been a popular choice as a vintage vehicle after
its discontinuation in the U.S., There's a real dedicated following
behind the Ford Bronco nameplate. And so bringing it back makes sense,
especially in this very kind of SUV happy, SUV hot marketplace that
we've got right now. Ford seems to be taking steps to
prevent the Bronco from becoming a product whose flame burns
brightly but briefly. Jeep declined to comment
on this story. First, Ford is not just releasing a
single Bronco, the Bronco is actually a brand with the larger Ford brand,
similar to what Mustang has become. The automaker is offering a choice of
three vehicles in the hope of capturing a wider swath of customers. Executives have said that more Bronco
vehicles could be on the way. There are two door and four door
versions based on the Ranger platform and a smaller, lower priced version
called the Bronco Sport. There are about six trim levels for
the Bronco alone, plus a special first edition version in
designing the Bronco. Ford has also taken customer input seriously
and says it has tried to answer needs it
thinks are underserved. We spent a lot of time digging through
the archives to make sure we really understood the essence of
the Bronco brand. We created expert panels and talked to
enthusiasts to make sure we fully understood what Bronco was all about. And for for us, Bronco had to be
really true to what a Bronco always was. For example, many Wrangler drivers like to
pull the doors and the roofs off their vehicles. But Ford said its
design makes doing this easier. And on the four door version of the
Bronco, all four doors can be stowed in the trunk, a feature not
found on the Wrangler. Ford's actually done some really thoughtful
design touches, like being able to stash the doors in the back
instead of having to leave them behind, having the mirrors mounted on the
fenders instead of on the doors. If you've ever taken the doors off
the Wrangler, you quickly realized I don't have any
side-view mirrors anymore. There are slide out tables on the
rear of the Bronco for camping or tailgating, along with a bottle opener
and floodlights on its tailgate. Ford also offers an optional bundle
of off-road upgrades called the Sasquatch Package, which comes standard
on the Broncos highest trim. Opting for the Sasquatch Package makes
the vehicle only available with automatic transmission. Manual options are otherwise available,
but Ford's North America product communications manager Mike Levine said on
Twitter the company is open to changing that if customers want the
manual with the Sasquatch Package as well. Ford is also trying to build
out a community of Bronco drivers that can help sustain interest in
the vehicle over time. The automaker is starting a program
called Off-Roadeo, where new owners are offered a free day and a half
clinic in off-road driving and Bronco ownership on one of four
courses around the U.S. There is also an online forum
called Bronco Nation for owners and enthusiasts. So this Bronco Nation website is
is up and running and we expect that to be just a
great source for building that community. We have the opportunity to come in
fresh to kind of help organize that community into a singular community, where if
you want to know the latest Bronco news or just learning about
the outdoors signing up for the Off-Roadeo, they'll go
to TheBroncoNation.com. The Broncos starts at $29,995 including
destination charges, which is just $205 more than a base Jeep Wrangler. Prices for the highest
end models, top $60,000. If it takes off, the Bronco could
be a great moneymaker for Ford. Selling 125,000 Broncos, just more than
half the volume of the Jeep Wrangler in 2018, would contribute nearly
$1 billion to Ford's North American pretax earnings, according to
Credit Suisse analyst Dan Levy. He expects Bronco to pull in
profits of about $7,500 per unit. That would make Bronco one
of Ford's most profitable models. Ford's North America president Kumar
Galhotra projected the company could sell hundreds of thousands
of Broncos a year. This all comes at a time
when the second largest U.S. automaker is in the middle
of a multi-year turnaround. CEO Jim Hackett who took the reins of
the company in May 2017, had at times taken criticism for not moving
quickly or decisively enough to cut the company's costs and
jettison struggling businesses. In August, Hackett said he would
retire from Ford effective October 1st. Ford said COO Jim Farley
would take Hackett's place. Ford continues to be challenged in China
and has had difficulty with its business in Europe. The Blue Oval
unveiled an $11 billion restructuring plan in 2018, which at the
time Ford said would take years. But before coronavirus set in, there
were some positive signs at the company. Its North American business continued
to be strong, in large part due to the success of
its full size trucks. Shares were up more than 21%
for the 2019 calendar year. Now, like all automakers, Ford is
struggling with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. As of July 17th, 2020 shares had
fallen roughly 27% since the beginning of the year, Ford said in late June, its
sales for the second quarter of 2020 were down 33%, though this was
in line with industry expectations. The pandemic also forced the automaker
to stop production for several weeks during the quarter. But in late July, Ford released results
for the second quarter of 2020 that surpassed even its own expectations. Part of that came from the fact
that sales turned around amid the pandemic better than expected. And the company
said it already has more than 150,000 reservations for the broncho. The coronavirus pandemic also raises questions
about how well Ford will be able to manage the key product rollouts
it had scheduled for the year. The company already had some trouble with
the launch of its new explorer in 2019. Ford had to delay the release of the
Broncho and its latest version of its best selling F-150 due to the circumstances,
and it is supposed to roll out its new Mustang Mach-E fully
electric vehicle later in the year. The Bronco unveiling already
faced some other challenges. Its first adjusted unveiling date, July
9th, happened to fall on the birthday of O.J. Simpson, the former football star and
actor who had been accused of killing his ex-wife in the 1990s. At the time he was accused, Simpson
was engaged in a televised chase with police in 1994 in
a white Ford Bronco. The company said the choosing of the
date was just a coincidence, but changed it again anyway. Despite these obstacles, there has
been little question among auto industry insiders that the Bronco was
always a highly anticipated product. It is also a vehicle that plays to
Ford's strengths, and it is a fresh entry in the sport utility
segment customers are clamoring for. Finally, Ford says it has been careful
to build a Bronco worthy of the name a true off-roader. Kind of started with the Built Ford
Tough Testing and then we've added to that and taken Broncos out to the
toughest terrains that we could find. Johnson Valley and all the different trails
that we could find out there to really test it out. We have the capability on the vehicle to
ensure that it's got the right to build a so all Broncos
are four by four. And then there's an element
of the authentic design. Success or failure, it is a sign that
Ford is focusing its attention on a market it knows well and can succeed
in capable trucks and SUVs built mostly for Americans.
