There was once a time when the U.S. market got the latest and greatest products an automaker produced, but those days are long behind us now. Take this new Ford, for example. What we’ve got here is a bona fide electric Bronco. Sounds pretty neat, right? I mean, an electric off-roader is a sick idea. Here’s the issue, though: we’re not getting this bad boy stateside. Instead, it’ll be offered exclusively in China.
The third Bronco in Ford’s lineup — called the Bronco New Energy — borrows a hell of a lot of styling cues from the compact Bronco Sport, but other than looks, the two don’t share very much. The biggest difference is what you’ll find under the hood: no engine. Instead, this Bronco will either come as a full electric vehicle or it’ll be fitted with a range-extender (EREV) system, according to CarScoops. The EV will come with a stout 271 horsepower, while the EREV — which will look identical — will make use of a 1.5-liter plug-in motor that’ll pump out 241 horsepower. One drawback of the drivetrain is that they both seem to be front-wheel drive only, which is a bit of a letdown for something that carries the “Bronco” nameplate.
The EV Bronco will feature a 105.4 kWh battery that’ll be good for an impressive 404 miles of range on a single charge, Motor1 reports. The EREV will have a much smaller 43.7 kWh battery that’ll give it just 137 miles of electric-only range. However, if you combine that number with what the fuel tank will offer, Ford says it’ll be able to travel up to 758 miles on a single tank.
The looks
If the drivetrain options weren’t enough to make you feel jealous of our Chinese counterparts, surely the looks will. From the outside, it definitely looks like it belongs in the Bronco family. It combines elements of both the full-size Bronc’ and the Sport. Buyers will get cool design cues like flush-mounted door handles, a tailgate-mounted fifth wheel, a floating roof and some interesting wheel options. It also looks to have lidar sensors on the roof, which is fascinating considering we’re nowhere near to getting something like that in USDM Broncos.
While the truck does look like it borrows more of its looks from the Bronco Sport, its size more closely resembles the full-size truck. Its 116.1-inch wheelbase is identical to the American four-door Bronco, according to Motor1. That also means its wheelbase is about 11 inches longer than the current USDM Bronco Sport. In terms of overall length, the electric Bronco is 197.8 inches — quite a bit larger than the 189.4 inches of the Bronco and 173.4 inches of the Bronco Sport.
Length isn’t the only thing the electric Bronco beats its siblings in, either. It’s wider than every USDM Bronco other than the Bronco Wildtrak, CarScoops reports. It’s also quite a bit heavier, but that’s not exactly a surprise. Ford says it weighs 5,535 pounds in EREV form and 5,800 pounds as an EV. The lightest Bronco Sport comes in at a featherweight-by-comparison 3,500 pounds. Hell, even the Bronco Raptor only weighs 4,945 pounds.
Broncin’ buck
The Bronco New Energy is apparently going to enter the Chinese market sometime in the fourth quarter of this year. It’s going to be manufactured by JMC — a joint venture between Ford and Jiangling Motors, CarScoops reports. There’s no official word on pricing, but it looks like it’ll come in somewhere between $42,000 and $56,000, meaning it’ll be much more closely aligned with the Bronco rather than the Bronco Sport.
If you ask me, it’s a damn shame this truck isn’t coming stateside. I mean, I understand why. EV takeup is slowing in the U.S., and President Trump’s tariffs on Chinese-made vehicles would make this thing so expensive that no one would buy one. Still, a boy can dream.
