Bronco Market Share down to 25%, while Jeep is 40% and 4Runner 35%

[WilVis]

I bought a new TRD Off-road 4Runner a couple months ago at $2.5k below sticker after seeing the more complicated direction Toyota is headed with the Tacoma. I’m also guessing the next gen won’t be built in Japan. The 4Runner is super satisfying as far as build quality and holds more cargo, but my Bronco is more fun.

I will say I plan to own the 4Runner for twenty more years. Not so sure on the Bronco.

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[bigblockfox545]

This thread makes me laugh

A 8500 rpm 3.5 v8. Lol. It's an off road vehicle, not a sports car. A small displacement v8 makes no torque which is exactly what you don't want in an off road vehicle. How much more you want the price to go up.

Not sure why the 4runner is being compared to the bronco so much here. Not even comparable. Not knocking the 4runner. Great vehicle's, just completely different.

What new model vehicle model hasn't had a few gremlins. Throw in a pandemic and now inflation.

Broncos are not the only vehicles sitting on the lots. Interest rates and price increases have made it difficult for the average folk.

Love mine. hats off to ford for actually building it.

 

[mpeugeot]

This thread makes me laugh

A 8500 rpm 3.5 v8. Lol. It's an off road vehicle, not a sports car. A small displacement v8 makes no torque which is exactly what you don't want in an off road vehicle. How much more you want the price to go up.

Not sure why the 4runner is being compared to the bronco so much here. Not even comparable. Not knocking the 4runner. Great vehicle's, just completely different.

What new model vehicle model hasn't had a few gremlins. Throw in a pandemic and now inflation.

Broncos are not the only vehicles sitting on the lots. Interest rates and price increases have made it difficult for the average folk.

Love mine. hats off to ford for actually building it.

How much torque do you need?

Not much with the correct gearing... Wranglers have been wheeling forever with gutless engines. The Bronco needs maybe 200 ft/lbs of torque to go anywhere (easily in the realm of ANY 3.5 liter V-8 or 6 for that matter).

Is more torque generally better, why yes, but more HP is fun too.

 

[JT58Bronc]

Ya a nice small V8 would be nice but don't do what the Wrangler did with the 392 and make it over 100K in price. That is unaffordable for most. Prices are too high for most people as it is and combine that with low MPG and the Bronco will attract only a specific buyer looking for that type of vehicle. Most people want the smaller fuel efficient SUV's- and hybrids are the hot thing right now. I like BASE vehicles and have a base Bronco. If base was not available at the time I bought mine I would most likely not have a Bronco. I was not going to pay over 42K for one. At today's prices I would not own one, that's for sure.

 

[flip]

How many price increases since the release? I think they should offer a-la-carte options with the different models since they should have sufficient feedback by now. The other thing is consolidating number of pat numbers (one park aid sensor, tire carrier, all with locking rear diff, all with rock rail with a couple bolt on step or board options, one cloth, one vinyl, one leather option, tinted glass only, etc). Those are just a few things I'd change going forward. Maybe allow more user level changes including lighting additions, audio upgrades, chime disable, additional security measures like use of backup key in addition to fob.

IMO, Ford has jacked the price up where it's no longer appealing. Those that would be first time off-roaders might not have the parks or clubs available to have the experience. Even with ICE and E separated, they have to offset the beating they're taking on EV with the ICE vehicles and they're taking full advantage.

We sold our white raptor this weekend after little interest, still have a A51 and found out Sat, two more are getting dropped on us soon but won't give us any standard bronco allocation I'm glad we're getting anything at this point but would easily move 5 standard broncos faster than 1 raptor.

 

[North7]

You are right - the chart is correct.

The 4Runner posted a 35 percent segment share, down a 12 percentage points,

Maybe I failed math in school.

4Runner Q1 2023: 23%
4Runner Q1 2024: 35%
Equals = UP / Increase / Plus + 12%

 

[Bigmoose]

I agree but that can be said for every new vehicle right now. It might be because of the Bronco being more of a niche vehicle. What are your thoughts?

for sure. Other vehicles are getting rebates or special financing to move them. My badlands is 8k more expensive since i bought it in 22. Would i buy it today, no. Being a bronco fan i would have settled on a lower model, other people wouldn’t.

 

[MadMan4BamaNATL]

Wait, so you're saying, Ford really does not want to be competitive with Jeep and 4Runner, so they will just leave money on the table of one model to chase another (Ranger)?

Are you forgetting, in 2020, Ford was projecting Bronco sales of 200,000 plus per year?

Bronco sales drop comes down to one thing; price. Bronco is NOT a $70K vehicle, not even close, but far too many have paid just that amount and regretted it almost immediately.

As for why it’s not a $70K vehicle, well, it’s raw and rugged. Let’s face it, most American men aren’t either of these things. Sure, many wish they were or want to look like they are, but they’re not. Hang out in any suburb from Atlanta, to Denver, to Seattle, or Texas cities, and you’ll realize the joke versus the cars they choose to drive.

Unless you’ve got that tough looking Bronco to actually off-road, you’re likely to not like it so much after a few months.

By contrast, a 4 Runner can serve many interests in relative comfort. The new iteration will really up the soft factor. Add to that, until now, the most expensive 4 Runner; the TRD Pro, is only around $55K with enough cup holders and storage for a suburban family.

The Wrangler is also wildly overpriced and is raw as hell; even more than a Bronco, but you can easily get one with steep discounts and mods are cheap and a plenty.

So, Ford may have said 200K 4 years ago, but ego, hubris (going electric), and a host of bad decisions in supply chain management have taken a lot of the steam.

the consumer class embraced Bronco when it was the tough looking new toy, but Toyota has awaken from the dead and the fun is over at this point.

Bronco is back to what it should have been, an enthusiast off-roader and should sell maybe 70K-100K per year, but only if they lower these crazy prices and ADM.

 

[North7]

So, Ford may have said 200K 4 years ago, but ego, hubris (going electric), and a host of bad decisions in supply chain management have taken a lot of the steam.

HOW, does Jim Farley still have a job?

 

[MadMan4BamaNATL]

HOW, does Jim Farley still have a job?

He does bare some blame of being far too ambitious on the EV mess that hardly any men in the country want, but it’s the entire company leadership..

Why are Bronco and Ranger on the same line? Why go so hard with the Lightning; a pickup that can’t haul or tow? Who is that bullshit for? City boys with a truck is the biggest joke in America; Raptor even more so.

Speaking of, why the $110K Raptor R? Just why?

Why no V8 in the Braptor the consumer has begged for? Why still try to selll the V6 for $100K anyway? Rich boy and rugged is not a thing.

Ford have been chasing the poseur luxury crowd, which was a fools errand. They bypassed the enthusiasts, but many manufacturers take us for granted to go after the consumer class. Consumer class can’t be trusted, they follow the blowing wind; always have, always will.

Consumer class ruins a brand and model because they look terrible in everything. Enthusiasts make others aspire to look like them, but Ford didn’t give the Bronco to the right crowd, so they’ve screwed themselves.

Ford can claw back, but they have to eat a lot of crow and start making better decisions by listening. Think Jeep with the new Waggoneer. Everyone asked for some wood panel vinyl on the side; Jeep nerds said “absolutely not”, the bloated trash barely sells at all. Again, listen to your customers people, they know more than you.

Ok, I’m done.

 

[North7]

They bypassed the enthusiasts, but many manufacturers take us for granted to go after the consumer class. Consumer class can’t be trusted, they follow the blowing wind; always have, always will.

Consumer class ruins a brand and model because they look terrible in everything. Enthusiasts make others aspire to look like them, but Ford didn’t give the Bronco to the right crowd, so they’ve screwed themselves.

So you're saying, like we all knew, the joke of a marketing decision, turning it over to Biff Nation, was doomed from the start, who could have seen that coming.

 

[Kevin Scarbel]

I own two Broncos.
That said, overall car sales are slowing drastically. Perhaps the millennials have run out of Covid money.
At the same time, Ford cut F-150 Lightning production in half and offered alternative work for those affected over in Wayne with the creation of a third shift for Bronco production.
Thus with slowing sales and beefed up production (beginning this month....April), Broncos will be easy to obtain.

JP Morgan head Jamie Morgan expects a hard landing. I expect no rate cuts this year. Dimon has his bank positioned to handle rates of 8% of higher. And than you have the likely conflict or war in Asia......all those little pieces will not be arriving from China for auto plants in the US, Canada and Mexico after that starts.

 

[huey]

Wait, so you're saying, Ford really does not want to be competitive with Jeep and 4Runner, so they will just leave money on the table of one model to chase another (Ranger)?

Are you forgetting, in 2020, Ford was projecting Bronco sales of 200,000 plus per year?

Ford may have stated that( I have not seen it) but I can promise you from the supply side that is not the target number used in building lines to supply product such as the frame. As others mentioned - swing for the fences but putting out exaggerated sales numbers early on can be a mistake - as @North7 pointed out it can look like a failure.

Having said that, a yearly volume of 100k units or 25k a quarter would definitely be lower than expected. The first full sales yearish was very good, as it should be for a new product. Now the newness is gone and the sales need to be sustained by a genuinely good product. That will be the test of how successful the bronco will be. Let's see if Ford maintains the price increases they have pushed or if they start to fall down a bit if sales stay low.

My take is this is a very small sample size of data, and it shows the segment is not settled. I am not following 4 runner prices but I wonder if Toyota dealers are lowering prices in anticipation of the new gen truck. I spoke with a friend last night whos was going to buy used 4 runner but bought new as the new price was lower. Maybe he was just lucky or good at negotiating I don't know. Whatever the case that is a big back and forth swing between bronco & 4 runner, with jeep holding steady. And maybe the UAW strike impacted ford more than Jeep, definitely more than Toyota

 

[CMillBronco]

I've been reading this thread and I keep seeing comments that a 4Runner isn't competition for the Wrangler/Bronco. That doesn't make sense to me unless you're simply looking at a removable top and more offroad capability. These all are SUV's and 98% of them are mall crawlers, we needed a 4 door SUV with 4x4 for CO mountains and heavy snow driving(so mall crawler for the wife). No heavy off-roading which the OB we ordered isn't built for anyway, the 4Runner/Wrangler Unlimited Sport/Bronco non locked trims were the 3 we looked at and all had pro/cons.

 

[broadicustomworks]

This.

Ford also needs to crack down on straight up shitty dealers that can't seem to fix problems. The dealer I bought mine from didn't charge me markup, but refused to address a *safety* issue that was covered under warranty in under six weeks. Friends are out of their broncos for nearly 3 months due to dealership fuckery, with no loaners because Ford refuses to let dealers stock any spares due to "supply chain issues".

I adore my bronco, I really do. but fuck Ford corporate sideways with a cactus, my next vehicle is a Toyota.

There is a distinct reason why I did not darken the door of or suggest Ford at all this past weekend when my daughter was hot to buy a new vehicle.
She got one, but not a Ford. And it could have been.
I love my '21, in at MSRP before all of the giant money-grab price increases. It has been steady and dependable with very minor and few things to work on.
However, the dealer network and the sheer contempt they seem to have for their own customers leaves MUCH to be desired. Even if pricing and greediness were not a factor.

We visited the Chevy dealer again the prior weekend to get a camera issue fixed on our Silverado.
Completely different attitude and environment in the service dept. vs when I have to visit Ford's.
And I've tried 3 different service depts "near me". It is more of the same.

The problems run much deeper than pricing, quality, service, dealers at singular levels show.
Put them all together and you have a situation where a mega-company making tons of money simply doesn't seem to care at all if you are a happy or repeat customer.

It's almost a persona of "Screw it, we'll sell to someone else."

Let them eat cake, it seems.

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