Ford didn’t compete in King of the Hammers, held this month as part of the Ultra4 racing series, but the event drew the kind of die-hard enthusiasts it hopes to target with the Bronco.
The competition features both desert racing and rock crawling, drawing more than 75,000 spectators and more than 1 million online viewers.
“It helps build the Bronco brand and the reputation and familiarity of our lineup of off-road vehicles,” Greuber said.
While the races are fertile ground to win over customers, Ford hopes its family of rugged utilities appeals to less hardcore fans as well.
“Both of these vehicles are for a growing group of people who want to simplify their life and get out there with their family and friends,” Jim Farley, Ford’s newly promoted COO, said at a 2018 event previewing the automaker’s future vehicle lineup. “For Jeep, that’s rock crawling in Moab. For Ford, our people want true off-road vehicles that are comfortable at high speeds. They don’t want SUVs that look like doomsday vehicles or have spartan, government-issued interiors.”
The Bronco is expected to have two-door and four-door variants and a removable hard top and doors. It will be built in Wayne, Mich., on the same platform as the Ranger midsize pickup. Dealers who have seen the Bronco say it has a retro design, but Ford has promised to pair that with new connected technology.
“We live in a world now where the technology exists to give you a very capable off-road vehicle with minimal on-road compromises,” Brauer said. “You can create these vehicles that are very capable in extreme circumstances that don’t drive away mainstream consumers. Bronco has a lot of potential.”
