The Bronco Sport that Isn't...

The Bronco Sport that isn't a Bronco Sport (image: Autocar)

The latest news out of Ford Europe has me perplexed. Let’s see if I understand this correctly...

🔸 Ford will launch a new electrified SUV at their Valencia plant in 2027

🔸 It will indirectly replace the Focus, slotting below the Kuga (a/k/a, the European version of the Ford Escape)

🔸 It will share the Kuga/Escape’s C2 platform

🔸 It will be called Bronco, and will carry cues from America’s Bronco SUV

🔸 Per Automotive News, “The Spanish-built Bronco will be slightly smaller than the Kuga and has no connection with the larger Bronco and Bronco Sport off-road focused models sold in the U.S.”

So, even though the U.S. market Bronco Sport is

🔸 based on the C2 platform,

🔸 slightly smaller than the Escape,

🔸 and shares plenty of cues with the midsize, body-on-frame Bronco...

... Ford will spend resources to develop a completely different vehicle for Europe when it’s literally building the same vehicle in the U.S.? I might understand if Ford said, “We’re going to leverage the next-generation Bronco Sport (as the current model will be seven years old in 2027) to broaden our European market presence.” That sounds pretty smart, especially considering Jeep’s expansion there and the upcoming Land Rover Defender Sport and Mercedes g-Class. But unless the reporters have it wrong, this sounds like an inefficient use of resources (at best).