Way back in 2018, we reported that FoMoCo had no plans to produce a right hand drive Ford Bronco for the Australian market. However, in an interview with Ford Authority last fall, Bronco and Bronco Sport chief designer, Paul Wraith, left the door open slightly for those pining for a right hand drive Ford Bronco. Regardless, it now seems that Ford Australia president and CEO, Andrew Birkic, has confirmed that it isn’t happening with either the Bronco or Ford Bronco Sport.
“There is no right hand drive,” Birkic told the Australian press this week, according to CarsGuide. “As a Ford employee, we think it’s an amazing product. We are really proud…it’s an amazing body of work and we’re incredibly proud. But the vehicle isn’t built for right hand drive and that’s where it’s at. We’re always looking at what the (Ford global portfolio has to offer). That’s part of the course, that’s our role. But there is no right-hand drive for that vehicle…we’re very proud of the Bronco globally and there is a pretty strong waiting list for it.”
As for why Ford made this decision, Sinead Phipps, the automaker’s International Market Group corporate communications director, said that projected sales of such a model in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Japan, and the United Kingdom just aren’t high enough to justify the cost of building a right hand drive Ford Bronco. “You have to be able to make money out of it,” Phipps said. “You have to have enough customers ready to buy it. And, I agree, it’s a fabulous product. But it just doesn’t make sense.”
As we (and Wraith) have pointed out in the past, the Bronco shares the Ford T6 Platform with the Ford Ranger – which is sold in right hand drive configuration across the globe in places like Europe, South Africa, and Australia. Thus, we know that Ford is certainly capable of producing a RHD Bronco. Unfortunately for those that live in places that drive on the left hand side of the road, the automaker just doesn’t seem to believe that very many people would buy one.
We’ll have more on the Bronco very soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for more Ford Bronco news and around-the-clock Ford news coverage.
Comments
Are they going to ever build a Left Hand Drive?
That’s rubbish. They would sell more of these in Aus and NZ than they do the Everest.
If Jeep can justify RHD then the Bronco should be a sure thing!!
Once again short-sighted and stupid argument by Ford, they justified the Mustang for RHD markets and the Bronco would easily outsell the ‘stang in all those markets; this is another case of Ford America thinking that the world finishes at the border and Ford Australia execs having no idea of what the public are interested in buying, you only need travel any road in Australia to see how many Wranglers, Defenders etc are out there to know there’s a market. I can’t believe how the Ford CEO and other board members can’t see how poorly Ford Australia is at vehicle selection for our market, in the last few years they closed Australian manufacturing and we lost the Territory, one of the world’s best mass production Mid/Large SUVs instead we got the Ecosport, the Fiesta,the Focus, the Endura/Edge and now the Puma, not one of them has come within a bulls roar of being considered by buyers. Buyers have been saying for years to bring back the Explorer and F trucks and now the Bronco but no one is listening. If it wasn’t for the Ranger and Mustang 99% of the public wouldn’t even know Ford was still operating in Australia.
So much for our rural postal delivery persons who will have to stick with a Subaru.
And even though Jeep comes to mind as the Bronco target, I am buying one as an alternative to a Land Rover Defender. RHD Bronco in the UK would hit LR at home. Guess they don’t need a Bronco Sport in Japan.
After spending a week in the USVI, driving a LHD Jeep , which is the rental vehicle of choice, it is only Australia, I believe, that prohibits LHD vehicles on the road without a billboard
I don’t understand the cost’s involved, I’m no bean counter, but the platform is all ready there with the Ranger, what’s different apart from the dash on the wrong side.
FOrd, make a RHD bronco for postal workers…
I still don’t understand the cost’s involved, aren’t all the left hand drive sales of the vehicle supposed to pay for the slight alteration’s to the vehicle, why don’t they get ford Australia to build there own and Land Rover could build the uk ones.