At the annual Detroit Concours d'Elegance, Ford Motor Company's Global Vice President of Design Anthony Lo took the stage during a series of panel discussions sponsored by Newsweek and detailed the challenges of creating a hypothetical Ford Bronco electric vehicle that targeted 400 miles of all-electric range.
The "Designing for Tomorrow" panel also included Hyundai Motor Group Design Director and former Ford designer Haksoo Ha. Lo and Ha explained to the thousands of gathered attendees that EV design is changing and challenging the industry as the vehicles of today are working to be translated into the models of tomorrow.
Lo explained that brand names like Bronco and Mustang and Ranger (and Transit) are international products that all have their own unique characteristics. And that Ford has covered all segments while maintaining the brand's DNA. His job now is working on combining that history with new technologies and electric propulsion.
"I think the biggest challenge is on the off-road products. I really have to understand how people are using vehicles today. Because it's not just about styling. People ask why don't you just take that graphic in front of a Bronco and put it on the next EV Bronco? Because the actual need for cooling or lack of need for cooling is very different," Lo told Newsweek on the panel.
"I think you also need to think about how you can design a future Bronco that also meets all our aerodynamic targets and that you can actually drive more than 400 miles, you know, on a single charge. So all of that I think this is really exciting. We are in the Golden Age of car design. And I feel really honored to be able to take some of our brands and nameplates and create new ones going forward," he said.
Ford has not confirmed the existence of Bronco EV, though it's expected that plans are in the works to electrify one of its most prominent nameplates to some extent. Both the Ford Bronco Sport and full-size Bronco are expected to get refreshed in the second half of 2024, according to Automotive News.
A Ford spokesperson told Newsweek that the company, "does not comment on future product speculation."
Experts believe that a Ford Bronco Sport EV is more likely to come to fruition before a Ford Bronco EV.
"As Ford, along with most other automakers, work to transition to predominantly EV portfolios, this will include more products in more segments than they may offer today. Ford has also announced aggressive targets for seeing its sales make up high proportion of EV products. While we can't confirm what Ford's plans are, introducing a Bronco Sport EV first could mean higher volume faster than launching a Bronco EV first," Stephanie Brinley, associate director of research and analysis at S&P Global told Newsweek.
Brinley says that the Bronco Sport is more accessible from a pricing perspective (than the Bronco) as well as being better suited to a wider range of lifestyles. Bronco is focused on an aggressive outdoor lifestyle and is larger and more expensive. Bronco Sport makes an outdoor, active lifestyle easier but fits into budgets, city environments and day-to-day needs more comfortably.
"As both vehicles eventually transition using an electric propulsion system instead of ICE, they are likely to retain their basic market positioning. The change will be about how the propulsion system can better meet the needs of the respective buyers, not about changing what those buyers want from a vehicle, said Brinley.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jake Lingeman is the Managing Editor for the Autos team at Newsweek. He has previously worked for Autoweek, The Detroit ... Read more
