Ford Australia tuning Bronco Basecamp for overseas markets

Ford Australia is developing the Bronco Basecamp SUV for global export markets ahead of its planned local arrival in the second half of 2027 with an extended-range electric (EREV) powertrain.

Ford has confirmed the Chinese-made Bronco Basecamp, developed with joint-venture partner Jiangling Motors Corporation (JMC), will receive unique chassis and safety system tunes for Australian showrooms.

Australia will be the first market outside China to receive the adventure-focused SUV, which has also been confirmed for New Zealand and Europe.

Development centred on Ford’s You Yangs proving ground near Geelong, Victoria, will also help calibrate Bronco Basecamp models for other export markets.

“We’re doing modifications to support [the vehicle], depending on which market we’re doing,” Iain Jones, vehicle program director for Ford International Markets Group, told media, including CarExpert, at an event in Melbourne.

“For example, there’s work we’re doing here and [for] the unique environment we have here. We’re also doing development work in the Middle East because of the hot climate, which obviously gives you a different answer. And then we’ve got vehicles in Thailand.”

Mr Jones, who is based in Thailand, also oversees the Ford Ranger and Everest programs from Bangkok, where both vehicles are manufactured for Australia after being developed here.

That expertise will be used to tailor the Bronco Basecamp to individual markets, although the underlying vehicle was developed with JMC with Ford’s global export plans in mind.

“We have a different suspension tune to the China version of the vehicle,” he said.

“We’re trying to commonise that with what we’re doing here with the rest of the global markets, but any minor tuning will be sort of [suspension] springs and dampers, that sort of thing. The car is fundamentally the same.”

The Chinese-market Bronco Basecamp EREV doesn't have a braked towing rating, despite Ford Australia data showing 81 per cent of buyers use their vehicles for towing.

The Bronco Basecamp will be able to tow in Australia. Its maximum braked towing capacity is yet to be confirmed, although Mr Jones suggested it would fall short of the 3500kg benchmark set by the Ranger and Everest.

“[If] you want to tow three-and-a-half tonnes and go up the Victorian Alps off-roading, you’re going to take something like that,” he said, gesturing towards an Everest.

“If you want to tow a couple of jet skis up to the Murray [River] or drive to Bright to go camping – it’s like the everyday car, right?

“So you can drive in EV mode and use it every day, [take it on a] family adventure sort of thing, but you’re not going hardcore off-roading.”

Other changes will address individual countries’ safety and design-rule requirements, including calibrating the advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) for each market.

That work will include preparing the Bronco Basecamp to target a five-star ANCAP safety rating under the more stringent testing protocols introduced in 2026. These are closely aligned with Euro NCAP protocols, meaning a good rating under ANCAP will also help vehicles achieve a similar result in Europe.

Although Bronco New Energy pre-orders opened in China in November 2025 and customer deliveries began the following month, the model doesn't currently have a safety rating from C-NCAP or any other independent safety body.

“Australian ANCAP [requirements] drive certain things, right?” Mr Jones said.

“So, to get five stars now, the rules have changed, so there’s a lot of work that needs to be done to make it.”

It comes as Ford Australia CEO Fadi Mawal echoed previous comments made earlier this year, saying the company’s local engineering operations will continue to lead the Ranger and Everest programs, despite its Australian engineering workforce being reduced over the past few years.

“We will keep designing and engineering vehicles right here that are made for Australian drivers and our tough conditions, while leveraging the best of Ford’s global portfolio to move fast and stay affordable for local customers,” Mr Mawal said in a media statement announcing the brand's strategy leading towards 2030.

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