The 2021 Ford Bronco quickly became a hot commodity among consumers, as Ford racked up well over 160,000 reservations for the reborn SUV while it struggled to produce enough to satisfy that demand due to supply chain constraints and hardtop issues. Even today, as the 2022 Bronco has entered production, it’s still rather difficult to get one’s hands on this model, and many early reservation holders are still waiting to take delivery. Dealer inventory is often slapped with huge markups, further compounding the issue. But when it comes to Ford Bronco allocations, it seems that larger dealers are benefitting from a strategy that isn’t solely focused on filling orders on a first-come, first-served basis, according to Bloomberg.
While Ford is filling its Bronco reservation order conversions in regards to timestamps – with supply-constrained features playing a factor as well – larger dealerships are taking priority over smaller ones in terms of which receive Bronco allocations, according to the report. The automaker’s allocation formula favors not only big dealers in large cities but also those that sell less popular models.
In the case of the Bronco, around 50 percent of Ford’s shipments were routed based on online reservations, while 25 percent were shipped based on the physical location of the dealership with larger markets receiving priority, while the last quarter were divided up based on sales volume. Back in October, this formula was tweaked to give increased preference to dealers that sell more units of the Ford Bronco Sport as well.
At the same time, Ford has also reduced the percentage of Bronco sales that must be matched to a name on the digital order list from 80 percent to 60 percent, meaning that any walk-in customer can purchase four out of the ten Broncos that arrive at dealers. Regardless, still facing supply constraints including the semiconductor chip shortage, Ford isn’t in a position to boost production of the red-hot SUV, either.
“It’s really frustrating; it’s frustrating for everyone,” Ford CEO Jim Farley told Bloomberg. “All we can do at this point is scale as fast as we can and break the constraints and communicate to (buyers) what’s realistic.”
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Comments
Ford should be embarrassed by this whole ordeal.
I was a day 1 reservation holder – the website crashed due to demand and I spent a few hours trying to get on the list – should have been a sign.
The dealer I selected, a smaller one not well known, the salesman texted me by the wrong name and left a VM with the wrong information. The email I got from Ford had the wrong model I reserved.
Didn’t hear anything from Ford or the dealer between late July 2020 and December 2020, when I cancelled my reservation due to lack of information. Heck, a letter in the mail would have been appreciated. The whole thing felt like a sad joke.
Looked at one just this past week at the Florida State Fair (Brandon Ford) – they had a $25,000 ADM + $10,000 upcharge in wheels, tires, and protection package.
All for the best though, given I bought two new model Fords (2015 S550, 2017 SuperDuty) in the last 7 years and had completely avoidable problems with each.
I’ll let the interest die down a bit and supply ramp up.
made my reservation 582 days ago. Converted to code 99 first day of ordering in 2021 (manual transmission + sasquatch). Had moved my reservation to a dealer that was open with customers and signed deal to charge less than MSRP. Small dealer but still has over 350 ORDERS remaining for 2022s to be filled. Entire first quarter has been scheduled, and only 23 have build dates. Over 80% of the order holders are people that reserved in the first 24 hours. Yet Jo Shmoes walking off the street without a reservation are able to place an order at a large dealer and get a scheduled build date just a couple weeks later. Thats BS. Although joke is on them. These dealerships are ripping off the order holders and turning around to sell the Bronco to someone else willing to pay ADM for it. Imagine waiting years for your Bronco, getting emails from Ford saying “Your Bronco this…. Your Bronco that….Stay Pumped!” and then the dealership steals it out from under you.
FIFO. The oldest orders should be fulfilled first, and there should be protections in place to prevent greedy and morally bankrupt dealerships from screwing over customers. Doesnt need to be any more complicated than this.
what dealership is this?
The Maverick is a mirror of this exact flawed process as well. Dealerships in Salina Kansas and Granger, IA are the largest volume dealers in the US- huh. One of these has over 500 orders for just the Maverick alone. The hometown dealerships are at a true disadvantage as well as customers unaware that by ordering from the dealership down the road they might not get their truck this year. Jim Farley has been amazing hopefully he can fix this by creating the rule – we go by timestamp ( supply constraints considered ) on customer orders.
Mavericks also, people that ordered in December are getting Mavericks before July orders Outrageous
40% of Broncos are not going to order holders? Makes me want to just cancel…maybe I will look at a Jeep.
Still waiting. Trying to understand. Tolerance practice I suppose.
Ford lied as is still doing so. Constraints had nothing to do with fulfilling their commitment to reservation holders.
I am glad the press is finally interested in the topic but it would be encouraging to see someone really step up and expose this greed.
I have been seeing many Ford Broncos locally where customers are going to large dealers. They ordered after I did and have a bigger upgrade. It is not fair for those who have had their order longer through small dealers or like my dealer who changed owners to be on waiting list with bs stating they don’t have your parts yet or chip shortage. I own two f 150. I said I would only trade my f 150 for a bronco. I am still waiting. My husband sold his Jeep so I can buy a bronco. It is not right that orders through small dealers are postponed for the bs. This is lowering ford’s accountability as being the best.
I agree with all the comments, FORD screwed this launch from day one and still no better than the day I reserved in 2020. Call and still don’t have any information or a VIN#. Thinking I will go with another brand for my next vehicle or even not buy anything new and only by from private owners,
Another thing that really is getting under the skin. We all see new models, being talked about yet they can’t build the ones on backorder for everyone who put deposits to reserve and order. Stop the greed and build what you took orders for before taunting new models, new Raptors models.
What they should do along with the rewards points being issued once bought is offer everyone who reserved in 2020 and into mid 2021 should be offered 60 month 0% financing. By the time we get our broncos interest rates could be 4 or better and if they had delivered them as they said they would we would have been in the 2’s or less.
I live in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. I ordered my fully loaded Bronco Outer Banks, on Nov. 25/21. My model is a 2022. I was told that the vehicle would be built at the plant in Wayne, Michigan, USA, and that it would take 2, 3, or 4 mths for delivery. I see from reading updates that production did not start until Dec. 20/21. I am also wondering if the 1 week closure of the Ambassador bridge from Windsor, Ont. To Detroit Michigan will further stall the date. If you have any information, please let me know.
Thx, J. Nichols.
Do you have a Vin # , if not they can’t give you any correct date and tell you to contact your dealer to see where you fall on their list. I was told I was 6 of 14 at my dealer and they are getting 2 a month so far so I don’t think I will even see a vin# for 3 months then another 2 to build and get delivered. My buddy got his vin# was told going to build 2/28 4 days later was updated and told 3/21. So that tells you how much they actually know . GLTA.
Janice, at this point your dealer cannot give you a delivery date. They should know that by now. Fords new Bronco allocation formula favoring mega dealers has put things in an uproar. I reserved in October ’20, order was placed in March ’21. My ordered wasn’t pulled in ’21, and I reordered in Nov. ’21 for a ’22 model. With Fords new allocation formula I went from a possible late ’22 build to a possible late ’24 build. What is happening is all on Ford, and the bridge closure has nothing to do with the delays. The delays were well in place before the bridge was closed. Good luck on your order. I hope it’s pulled soon.
These issues exist on Bronco, Maverick and Mach E. It’s next to impossible for a dealer and the customer to get these vehicles. What do they all have in common you ask? Ford decided they knew how to do it better than the dealers (who customers previously ordered from) and implemented a reservation program trying to copy Tesla. The communications to both the customer and the dealer from Ford on the schedule, build, ship and ETA status of the ordered unit are HORRIBLY inaccurate, often sending conflicting communications within the same week! Other high demand vehicles in the past, Ford GT, Shelby, GT 500 and even the Expedition at one time didn’t go this way. Also, add the F150 Lightning to the reservation list nightmare. Many small to medium dealers have over 100 reservations and have been told they will be receiving two (2). How’s that reservation system working for you Ford ?
The Bronco name, resurrected, is a marketing gimmick. The slight resemblance to the original Bronco, which is the real deal, compared to this, which is just an SUV version of the Ranger, is no cause for all this supposed hype. For the money, I’d get a vehicle that will last 3-4 times as long…..the Toyota 4 Runner.
Well it’s for certain everything done has not been in the end customers interest. Lies upon lies will not instill confidence in their brand. When I reserved I was expecting a late ’22 build, and I was OK with that. When Ford bowed to the mega dealers, and changed the allocation formula that put my build into a possible ’24 model year. All reservation holders were told by Ford that if we reserved we would get our Broncos before any dealer stock was built. Well, there’s a lie. We were also told the Bronco would be built by date/time stamp (constraints were understood as a possible hold up), and there’s another lie. As a Ford customer am I suppose to be happy with this? NO, but Ford doesn’t care about me as long as their precious mega dealers can sell dealer stock with a stupid high market adjustment tacked onto the MSRP.
Well Ford, when are you going to do the right thing and HONOR all the reservation holders orders? Oh, and the word I put in capital letters if you aren’t aware of its meaning… (Noun: adherence to what is right or to a conventional standard of conduct) or (Verb: to fulfill an obligation or keep an agreement). When you started sending out vehicles that weren’t being held on the reservation list it was like a slap in the face to all order holders. All who gave a good FAITH payment for the reservation. (Faith: complete trust or confidence in someone or something.) Ford, you have ruined our faith in you. Straighten up and do what’s right. Live up to the advertisements you post. ((Ford+ plan for growth and value creation combines existing strengths, new capabilities and always-on relationships with customers to enrich experiences for and deepen the loyalty of those customers.)) Those are the words that Ford advertises. I have yet to receive any communications from dealership, or Ford for my vehicle order. So much for always-on relationships… I guess Ford needs to practice what it preaches and get back to its commitments to its customers.