Ford Bronco 2021
Source: Ford
DETROIT – Ford Motor is delaying the launch of its next Bronco SUV from the spring to the summer of next year due to coronavirus concerns in its supply chain, the company told its dealers on Friday afternoon.
Customers who had reserved vehicles were to begin the ordering process on Monday. This has now been postponed to mid-January, Ford spokesman Jiyan Cadiz told CNBC.
“We are committed to building Broncos with the quality our customers expect and deserve,” he said, declining to discuss specific issues with his supply chain.
Ford shares fell on the news but closed on Friday at $ 9.34, up 1.4%. During after-hours trading, the stock, which has a market value of $ 36.5 billion, fell less than 1%.
The Bronco’s postponement is a worrying sign for Ford – and potentially the U.S. auto industry, if problems with suppliers reappear due to the increase in coronavirus cases. In the United States, a seven-day average of new daily Covid cases is at its highest level so far on Thursday, according to CNBC analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.
In the spring, as the virus quickly spread across North America, automakers had to delay several products by months, or even a year, due to issues with suppliers or to save capital. They also shut down domestic factories for about two months.
The 2021 Bronco has been one of Ford’s most anticipated vehicles for years. The Bronco would contribute nearly $ 1 billion to Ford’s pre-tax profits in North America if sales reached 125,000 units, according to Credit Suisse.
The company said more than 150,000 people had made reservations for the vehicle, which it previously produced from 1965 to 1996.
As part of the delay, customers will now have until March 19 to place their order and agree on a final price, Cadiz said. Additionally, a much anticipated “Sasquatch Package” with manual transmission has been pushed back to model year 2022.
The supplier issues did not affect the Bronco Sport, a vehicle currently arriving at dealerships and part of Ford’s new “Bronco family”. Think of him as a cousin of the Bronco. The Bronco is based on a truck platform while the smaller Bronco Sport comes with less powerful four-cylinder engines and is based on a car or crossover structure for a smoother ride.
