Ford Bronco firms for Australia as CEO doubles down on ‘Porsche of off-road’

The retro-infused Ford Bronco off-road SUV could finally make its way Down Under as the Blue Oval brand doubles down on its ambition to become the “Porsche of off-road”.

Visiting Ford CEO Jim Farley told CarExpert that the Bronco was under serious consideration to flesh out the US automaker’s Australian lineup and reinforce the brand’s position as an off-road leader.

“If we want to be the Porsche of off-road, you’ve got to sell the 911,” said Mr Farley, referring to the iconic Bronco as “unapologetically American” and a car that helps define the brand in the same way the 911 is the pinnacle for Porsche.

“Porsche wouldn’t sell all the Macans and Cayennes [it does] if they didn’t have the 911 and win Le Mans,” he said.

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While arch-rival Toyota sells twice as many vehicles as Ford in Australia, Ford has the top-selling ute (the Ranger) and large SUV (the Everest), a position it clearly wants to capitalise on.

And Mr Farley says the Bronco could join them in local dealerships.

“Should we really launch the Bronco lineup here?” Mr Farley told us in an exclusive interview in Australia this week.

When asked if he was seriously considering engineering the left-hand drive Bronco for Australia, he doubled down by saying: “Yes, absolutely.”

For clarity, the vehicle being considered is the ‘real’ Bronco, not the smaller, Escape-based Bronco Sport crossover sold in some markets, or the electric Bronco Basecamp sold in China.

The current generation Bronco was launched in the US in 2021 as a direct rival to the Jeep Wrangler, reviving the famous nameplate after a 25-year hiatus.

Styled with strong retro influences from the original 1960s Bronco and designed with removable roof panels and doors, it has become one of the most distinctive vehicles in Ford’s global portfolio.

It also sits on familiar foundations.

The Bronco is based on Ford’s T6 ladder-frame architecture, the same platform that underpins the Ranger ute and Everest SUV – vehicles engineered by Ford’s Melbourne-based product development team.

That means the vehicle’s underlying structure is already compatible with right-hand-drive engineering. However, the Bronco itself has so far only been produced in left-hand drive.

Introducing it to markets such as Australia would therefore require a dedicated right-hand drive program, likely supported by other RHD markets.

Despite the engineering and regulatory challenges, Mr Farley indicated the Bronco is central to Ford’s broader brand strategy. He sees the Bronco as one of Ford’s two most iconic enthusiast nameplates.

“It’s right there we’ve got two horses: We got the Mustang and we got the Bronco,” he said. “They were approved in the same meeting with Lee Iacocca in 1962.”

If approved for release in Australia, the Bronco would likely be offered in several variants.

Entry-level variants would compete with the Jeep Wrangler, which currently sells in small numbers locally.

However, the more extreme Bronco Raptor – which features major suspension upgrades, a wider track and a high-output twin-turbo petrol V6 – would almost certainly form part of the lineup given the success of the Ranger Raptor in Australia.

But the model would also present some challenges for Ford under Australia’s strict New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES), which places limits on fleet-wide CO2 emissions.

Mr Farley suggested enthusiast products such as the Bronco remain important for the brand regardless.

“There is no Porsche of off-road here in Australia,” he said, adding that the Ranger Raptor, Everest Tremor and potentially Bronco would form part of a broader portfolio aimed at enthusiast buyers.

“Ranger with Raptor has done a great job, but we can do a lot more,” said Mr Farley, who confirmed the decision on whether the Bronco will come to Australia will be made within days.

“This trip is all about making choices,” he said, confirming the decision would be made by the time he departs Australia this weekend.

Mr Farley is in Australia this week alongside Ford’s advanced product development vice president Sam Basile and chief operating officer Kumar Galhotra as the company finalises the next stage of its product investment plan.

“We allocate this year nine to 10 billion dollars of spending,” Mr Farley said. “That’s my bet as the CEO how I spend that money.”

Mr Farley declined to elaborate on how soon the Bronco could arrive here and what engineering hurdles remained.

“I’m not going to go into that,” he said. “I think I’ve given you enough to think about.”

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