New Bronco but not so much bucking

Ford has yet to electrify its US Bronco SUV line-up but China may beat America to the punch. The Ford Bronco New Energy is a large SUV built as part of Ford’s joint venture with the Chinese-owned Jiangling Motors group. It will sell as a pure BEV or a range-extender hybrid. And it is for the China market only.

The Ford Bronco New Energy is just over five metres long and a touch under two metres wide. It is around 250mm longer than a Land Rover Defender but marginally narrower. Like a Defender, the electric Bronco features unibody construction. By contrast, the American Bronco features a ladder frame set-up. 

In the floor is a 105kWh battery pack that gives it up to 645km of range. That’s on the Chinese cycle that favours slower urban environment running. While it features Bronco’s hatch-mounted spare wheel and has good ground clearance and all-terrain tyres, this is a 2wd set-up from a single motor outputting 202kW.

There’s also a 180kW plug-in range extender variant that uses a 43kWh battery and a 1.5L four-cylinder petrol engine. The ICE power unit recharges the battery on the go. Ford quotes an all-electric range figure of 229km, after which the petrol engine kicks in. It acts as a generator only and cannot drive the vehicle. Overall range on a full tank and a charged-up battery is a claimed 1280km.

The new SUV looks as up for it as a traditional Bronco, thanks to its upright body, retro detailing and big wheel arches. No images of the interior are available but you can expect lots of widescreen real estate. A Badlands version may be offered with extra off-road equipment.

The Territory SUV is another that’s part of Ford’s joint venture. Neither model sell outside of China.

Bronco New Energy will go on sale in China later this year.