Rumors abound that the Ford Bronco Electric won’t arrive any time before the advent of fully autonomous driving and flying cars
The all-new Ford Bronco at the end of the last decade. Interestingly, the advent of the Bronco took place around the time when the entire automotive world was embracing electrification. No wonder, then, that the arrival of the new iteration of Ford’s classic had many frowning upon its rather mediocre fuel efficiency. In fact, someone even called the introduction of the new model as an “obscene monument to climate denialism.” Later, though, it came to light that an electric version is indeed in the pipeline.
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Ford Bronco Electric to Enter Production in 2029
That said, it looks like the wait for the Ford Bronco Electric would not end too soon. As per the screenshots of the company’s product roadmap, the battery-powered Bronco and Ranger models will be built on the new TE1 platform. They will be sold alongside the ICE iterations. But what’s of importance here is that these vehicles won’t make it to production until 2029. So, basically, those wishing for a cleaner Bronco with low running cost will have to wait pretty much through the entire decade.
This is certainly a bit of a disappointment for Ford fanatics and Bronco lovers. While Ford CEO Jim Farley confirmed the EV version back in May 2021 , his comment never suggested the long wait that the prospective customers would need to go through. Interestingly, arch rival Jeep Wrangler has been available in a 4xe plug-in hybrid version. Meanwhile, another rival comes next year in the form of the Recon electric SUV.
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To Be Produced in Tennessee
The current generation Ford Bronco (U275) will go out of production in October 2019. It will be replaced with a new generation model that’s internally codenamed U765. It will be built on the current model’s T6 architecture. The production of the electric model will coincide with that of the next-gen model. However, the two versions will be manufactured at separate facilities. The ICE version will be manufactured at the current Michigan Assembly plant but the Bronco Electric will be producted at the company’s plant at the Blue Oval City in Tennessee.
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This will be in line with the company’s plans to run two parallel operations, thereby separating EVs from ICE models. It’s also worth noting that the TE1 platform will be produced exclusively in Tennessee. The same facility will be used for the production of a smaller-than-F150 electric truck. While these are only forecasts from AutoForecasting Solutions, the organization has a track record of being very accurate with such things. So, from the looks of it, a Ford Bronco Electric is definitely on the anvil but won’t arrive pretty soon.
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