Off-road and blue oval fans rejoice – a right-hand drive Ford Bronco has reportedly been spotted in Australia.
Australian website CarsGuide.com.au claims a source spied an example of the Bronco with the steering wheel on the right-hand side, something that has not officially been announced by Ford. What’s more, the report says the Bronco had been crashed, suggesting that it has under-gone crash testing – a necessary step before going on-sale locally.
While Ford Australia responded to the report with a non-committal comment about the role Ford Australia has played in the development of the ‘T6’ platform that underpins the Bronco, Ranger and Everest, what it didn’t do was categorically rule it out.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about the new-generation Ford Bronco
The addition of the Bronco would be a welcome boost for Ford Australia, giving it another famous nameplate to sell alongside the incoming new Mustang. It also strengthens Ford’s position as a brand that sells ‘adventure vehicles’, with the Bronco making a nice addition to the popular Ranger and Everest duo.
It would also continue the local brand’s leaning towards the more American line-up and away from Europe. Ford Australia will add the F-150 pickup and Mustang Mach-E electric SUV later in 2023, while also dropping the European-designed Escape SUV.
The sighting of a right-hand drive Bronco isn’t a complete surprise, but it appears to be happening sooner than anticipated. Jim Farley told Torquecafe at the launch of the new-generation Mustang in September 2022 that a right-hand drive Bronco was a possibility but would take time.
He used the analogy of a nine-innings baseball game, saying the Bronco was only in the early stages of its planning but there was more to come.
“We can do Bronco and Bronco Sport for the globe for sure but we have, like, a year or two order bank so we have a lot of work to do on our capacity before we can even consider something like that,” Farley said at the time.
“Of course it can be engineered just like Mustang but you have to invest in the capacity and it’s the first or second inning of building up the Bronco line-up. There’s going to be a lot of iterations so give us some time.
“We’re still in the first or second inning… So give us some time.”
When exactly the Bronco will land in Australian showrooms remains unclear, especially as it remains officially unconfirmed. The revived Bronco launched in 2020, so it will be due for a mid-life update in the US in 2024, which would make ideal timing to expand its reach around the globe.
So if the right-hand drive model spotted in Australia is a pre-production version for crash testing then it could be as soon as 2024. Ford Australia has already confirmed that the F-150 and Mustang Mach-E will be on sale before the calendar changes, so having another exciting new model to add the following year would be just what the brand needs.
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