Ford Bronco officially ruled out for Australia

It’s official: The new-generation Ford Bronco won’t become available in Australia, where it will join the growing list of Ford no-shows because it won’t be produced in right-hand drive.

In the lead-up to the born-again Bronco’s launch, former Ford Australia president and CEO Kay Hart said there were no current plans for the all-new SUV to be sold here because the Ranger ute was so successful.

But she said that could change in future and fresh hopes for the Bronco’s local release emerged with the arrival of her replacement, Andrew Birkic, who was previously global chief product marketer for the Ranger, which donated its Australian-designed T6 ladder frame to the new Bronco.

However, Birkic has now kyboshed any chance of the new Ford Bronco coming Down Under in its current form, stating for the first time that it won’t be produced in right-hand drive.

“We don’t have a right-hand drive Bronco,” he told carsales in an exclusive interview.

“The Bronco story’s an amazing story and as a Ford employee I’m incredibly proud of that, but we don’t have right-hand drive and really I have nothing more to share around that.

“I understand the passion around it, but at this stage it’s built for American markets only.”

Asked whether the Bronco was offered to Ford Australia, Birkic said: “I don’t know. I wasn’t part of that product development process, but what I do know is there is no right-hand drive program and what we need to focus on is what we have in the lots and what the dealers have in their yards tomorrow or next month or next year.

“And that’s really Ranger from a commercial perspective.”

Ford Australia spokesperson Damion Smy said the lack of demand from other right-hand drive markets made the business case for RHD Bronco production impossible.

“For Bronco to come to Australia it would need more than just our market to want it,” he said. “We don’t see what we think is the volume here to support right-hand drive Bronco production alone.

“Even with Mustang, we’re not a big enough right-hand drive market so we need other markets to buy into those programs.”

Birkic made it clear he thought the Bronco would not have been a success Down Under.

“It’s not necessarily what I want. It’s really what the customer wants and what’s the right business decision for the enterprise,” he said.

“My charter is to make the right business enterprise decision based on what we have available and there is no right-hand drive [Bronco] available.

“So we’ll continue to focus on product that we believe our consumers will want. We’ll go and play in the right segments – not just in commercial but wherever there’s an opportunity – to improve our business, meet a customer need and provide throughout for our dealers. And that’s our model.”

The new Ford Australia chief conceded the blue oval brand had moved away from the ‘One Ford’ product development strategy pioneered by Alan Mulally, Ford’s global CEO between 2006 and 2014.

Since then Ford has launched a range of new regional models made only in left-hand drive, including the new Ford GT, Explorer, Mustang Mach E and F-150, plus a seven-seat version of the Endura/Edge and Shelby versions of the first global Mustang.

There had been hope the Bronco, F-150 and Mach-E may yet become global models because all three vehicles are listed internally by Ford as destined for its new International Markets Group, and export region that comprises a number of RHD markets including Australia.

The likelihood of any of those models being sold here now looks bleak, despite the fact the Bronco was engineered in Australia and attracted 150,000 reservations within three weeks of its world debut on July 13, extending the US waiting list out to mid-2022.

For the record, the 2021 Ford Bronco – available in both two-door and four-door guises, priced from under $US30,000 – will enter production around next March, and will likely be followed by a hard-core Raptor version in 2022.