With an iconic name, rugged styling, and true off-roading capability, there was never a doubt in our minds that the 2021 Ford Bronco would be a hit. Initial reports indicated that Ford received roughly 230,000 reservations for the SUV, while the Bronco First Editions were all accounted for less than a day after the vehicle was announced. Now that the 2021 Bronco’s online configurator has gone live, Ford is ready to provide some official figures on exactly how popular the new Bronco is.
Speaking with Autoblog, Mark Grueber, Ford’s U.S. consumer marketing manager, claims the automaker received more than 190,000 reservations holders that are ready to finalize the purchase of a Bronco. While that’s not an exact figure, it’s enough to reveal that the SUV was an immediate hit. Grueber also provided some information on which Bronco trims and packages are proving to be popular.
Apparently, reservation holders are choosing to go with one of the Bronco’s higher trim levels. The outlet claims that the Wildtrak trim makes up roughly 26% of reservations, with the Badlands closely following behind with about 20% of reservations. The other 54% is reportedly split among the rest of the trims, including the base, Big Bend, Black Diamond, Outer Banks, and First Edition. Hearing that consumers are choosing to go with one of the Bronco’s more expensive trims isn’t all that surprising. More and more consumers are choosing higher, more expensive trim levels and choosing to get longer loans.
When it comes to the body style, there are no surprises there, either. Autoblog claims that nearly 66% of reservation holders chose the four-door Bronco. Grueber told the outlet that Ford was expecting the four-door to be the popular option, but wasn’t expecting to see two-door SUVs account for 33% of reservations. The outlet states that the turbocharged 2.7-liter V6 engine is proving to be a popular option, though Grueber didn’t provide any official information on how many reservations were for the V6 engine.
While the V6 is proving to be more popular than the standard four-cylinder engine, the available manual transmission, which is only available with the base engine, is not. Grueber told the outlet that only 10% of reservation holders that opted to stick with the base four-cylinder engine have chosen to get the manual gearbox. That take rate is relatively high for vehicles on sale with a manual transmission, but it’s only a small part of total Bronco reservations.
As far as packages go, the Sasquatch Package, which brings a variety of off-roading components, is very popular with reservation holders. Less than half of all of the Broncos that have been reserved have the box ticked for the $4,995 package.
While some would look at the Bronco’s immediate success and claim that it doesn’t need any features or changes, Ford’s still working on bringing new features and packages for the SUV. It’s doing so, according to Grueber, by relying on feedback from customers and dealers. Ford, as the outlet points out, is also keeping an eye on forums and internet posts for ideas. An example of how far Ford is willing to go for consumers came when the automaker announced the decision to offer a manual transmission with the Sasquatch Package. Autoblog claims that the combination was already in the cards, but Ford moved the window up because so many people requested it. The combination, though, won’t be available until the end of 2021.
Listening to consumers isn’t unusual, but automakers never really listen to complaints when it involves a manual transmission. So, seeing Ford react so quickly with something consumers want, even when it won’t be popular, is surprising. If Ford wants the Bronco to take down the Wrangler, which is its main rival, then this is exactly what it needs to be doing.