Ford Bronco terlihat di Oz

The re-born Ford Bronco has reportedly begun right-hand drive development

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.

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.

Ford is offering both a two- and four-door models of the Bronco in the US

“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.

"Tentu saja dapat direkayasa seperti Mustang tetapi Anda harus berinvestasi dalam kapasitas dan ini adalah babak pertama atau kedua dalam membangun line-up Bronco. Akan ada banyak iterasi, jadi beri kami waktu.

"Kami masih berada di babak pertama atau kedua... Jadi beri kami waktu."

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.