Ford Readies Electric Bronco, But Not for the US Market

In the last decade, some of the biggest car and truck models have seen electric counterparts hit the road. The latest to do so is the Ford Bronco; according to recent reports, both a fully electric Bronco and an extended-range EV version are in the works. That’s the enticing part of the news. What’s likely to frustrate EV buyers in North America is the intended destination of the first electrified Broncos.

Kevin Williams reports at InsideEVs that these new iterations of the Bronco are for the Chinese market. Citing information provided by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Williams writes that the fully electric version will have a 105.4-kWh battery with 404 miles of range (650 km) according to China’s CLTC testing cycle; the EREV, which features a gas engine that can recharge the battery instead of driving the wheels directly like a hybrid vehicle, will reportedly have a 1.5-liter engine along with a 43.7-kWh battery capable of 137 miles of electric-only range.

Tycho de Feijter, who covers the Chinese automotive industry, shared more details about the upcoming models in a post on X, including that the batteries were manufactured by BYD Findreams — a division of EV manufacturer BYD — and that the electric Broncos’ driver-assist systems feature LiDAR.

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A recent report from Elly Rostoum at the Center for European Policy Analysis noted that China was responsible for more than 50% of worldwide electric vehicle sales, and that isn’t the only way the country has become dominant in terms of EVs. “China has spent the past two decades building an end-to-end EV ecosystem,” Rostoum writes — something the involvement of a BYD subsidiary in this new Ford initiative demonstrates.

Unfortunately for stateside Bronco enthusiasts who would like to go electric, the industry experts covering this announcement don’t hold out much hope that this iteration of the Bronco will come to the U.S. anytime soon.

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Tobias Carroll

Tobias Carroll lives and writes in New York City, and has been covering a wide variety of subjects — including (but not limited to) books, soccer and drinks — for many years. His writing has been published by the likes of the Los Angeles Times, Pitchfork, Literary Hub, Vulture, Punch, the New York Times and Men’s Journal. At InsideHook, he has…