Ford developing Bronco pick-up: report

FORD is reportedly preparing to revive plans for a Bronco-based pick-up before the end of the decade, potentially turning its increasingly successful off-road nameplate into a direct rival for the Jeep Gladiator – and raising fresh questions over the future positioning of the Ranger in North America.

According to reports citing people familiar with Ford’s future product plans, the Blue Oval will add a Bronco pick-up to its Michigan Assembly Plant at Wayne, which is expected to become dedicated entirely to Bronco-branded products around 2030.

The move marks a reversal of plans abandoned five years ago, when Ford reportedly told suppliers it had cancelled development of an earlier Bronco pick-up earmarked for a 2024 introduction.

That vehicle was never officially announced but was expected to share the T6 ladder-frame architecture underpinning the Bronco SUV and Ranger, and to compete directly against Jeep’s Wrangler-based Gladiator.

Now the idea is back – and seemingly as part of a broader effort by Ford to capitalise on the considerable equity of its most recognisable nameplates.

The Bronco pick-up is expected to follow the introduction of a hybrid Bronco SUV in 2027, although details of the ute’s powertrain, dimensions, configuration, and platform remain under wraps.

Ford has not formally confirmed the project.

What appears clearer is its intended manufacturing footprint. Michigan Assembly currently produces both the Bronco and North American Ranger, but reports indicate there is no next-generation Ranger currently scheduled for the facility once the present model reaches the end of its production cycle.

Instead, Ford is expected to build another petrol- and hybrid-powered mid-size pick-up at its BlueOval City operation in Tennessee towards the end of the decade.

Sources suggest that vehicle will be similar in size to Ranger, although it remains unclear whether Ford will retain the Ranger badge in North America or introduce a new nameplate.

As such, suggestions the Bronco pick-up will directly ‘replace’ Ranger should be treated cautiously. What is more certain is that it will displace Ranger production from Michigan Assembly as Ford consolidates Bronco manufacturing there.

The business case is compelling.

Ford sold 146,007 Bronco SUVs in the United States during 2025, a nearly 34 per cent increase year-on-year and the model’s strongest result since returning to showrooms in 2021. Ranger achieved 70,960 US sales over the same period, against 274,638 Toyota Tacomas and 107,867 Chevrolet Colorados.

The Jeep Gladiator – arguably the most obvious target for a Bronco ute – managed 56,790 sales.

A Bronco pick-up would also allow Ford to differentiate its lifestyle-oriented offering more clearly from conventional mid-size workhorse utes, using the Bronco’s established off-road image, retro styling and extensive accessory catalogue to chase higher-margin recreational buyers.

It would potentially follow the same formula Jeep employed in creating Gladiator from Wrangler – combining serious off-road ability and distinctive styling with the practicality of a separate load bed.

For Australia, the development is particularly interesting.

The current Bronco shares its T6 architecture with the Australian-developed Ranger and Everest but has never been produced in right-hand drive and consequently remains absent from local Ford showrooms.

However, Ford global CEO Jim Farley told GoAuto in Melbourne earlier this year that the company is seriously evaluating a right-hand drive Bronco program as part of a strategy to expand its enthusiast off-road portfolio globally.

Asked directly whether Ford was considering engineering Bronco for Australia, Mr Farley replied, “Yes, absolutely.”

Mr Farley has repeatedly said he wants Ford to become the “Porsche of off-road”, with Bronco serving as a halo product much as Mustang does for its performance-car business.

Whether that thinking ultimately extends to the Bronco pick-up remains unknown, and there is no confirmation the future ute will be engineered for right-hand drive.

Its arrival would also create an unusual situation in Australia, where it could potentially sit alongside Ranger rather than replace it.

Ranger has been Australia’s top-selling new vehicle for three consecutive years since 2023 and remains fundamental to Ford Australia, with most local-market versions produced in Thailand and the plug-in hybrid sourced from South Africa – entirely separate from Michigan production.

That makes the reported changes in the United States unlikely to spell the end of Ranger globally.

Instead, a Bronco pick-up could give Ford something it currently does not have – a more overtly lifestyle-focused, Gladiator-rivalling ute positioned above or alongside Ranger, while extending one of the Blue Oval’s strongest names into another potentially lucrative niche.

If the latest reports prove correct, we should know considerably more before its anticipated arrival around 2030.