Ford Has Big Plans for the Bronco Brand, and It Might Include a Pickup

The Ford Bronco is now what the suits call a “brand,” but that doesn’t mean it’s about to sully the name people love.

byJames Gilboy|
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"Bronco" is more than just a name for Ford's upcoming combination of crossover and SUV—more than what Ford calls its "new outdoor brand." Like the Mustang, the Bronco name could reportedly soon be found on a "family" of vehicles, including a pickup truck allegedly coming in 2024.

Speaking with The Drive during a call last week, Ford's U.S. consumer marketing manager Mark Grueber said that Ford is "continuously" looking for interest in new additions to the Bronco "family of products," though he had no such new additions to announce on our call.

"That is something we continuously look at, is [something we] try to understand—any customer needs that are out there, and how we can best satisfy them, whether it be today or in the future," Grueber told us. "So nothing, unfortunately, to share today, but we can certainly assure the enthusiasts that we continue to look at opportunities for Bronco today and in the future."

Grueber further explained to Automotive News that Ford will start with its three confirmed Bronco models—the two-door, four-door, and Sport. He added, though, that they will look for other ways to satisfy the seemingly huge demand for Bronco and potentially expand the brand down the line.

"We've always only had a two-door with Bronco, it's the image and capability leader," Grueber said during our call. "The market in that space as you probably know has shifted as well, so probably 80, 85 percent of that is four-door, so it's really critical for us to offer that for people who want to carry more people or cargo. And then the Bronco Sport, we just see as an additional customer."

Ford could tap into an even larger pool of customers with extra Bronco-branded models, including a pickup-bodied Bronco that AutoForecast Solutions says will arrive in 2024. And no matter what form future Bronco models take, Ford knows anything wearing the esteemed nameplate has expectations to meet, which is why it tested both the Bronco and Bronco Sport in Johnson Valley, California—site of the infamously brutal King of the Hammers off-road race.

"When we're going to put the Bronco name on any product, whether it be the Bronco Sport, or the two- or the four-door, there's a certain DNA that needs to be delivered," Grueber said. "In terms of the design of the vehicle, in terms of the capability of the vehicle, the customization, the ability to have a bunch of accessories, to be able to personalize that vehicle, and even just the type of off-road capability. Bronco's always been [a] kind of all-around off-road vehicle; it's been great at all different types of terrain, it still had that practicality of driving it on the street and everyday usability as well."

"So, when we put the Bronco name on it, it needed to deliver all those things, whether it be a Bronco Sport or a Bronco two- and four-door."

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