Virtual Broncos have been built by 450,000 people.
Ford finally turned the switch on the Bronco configurator late last week. had basic information on pricing and equipment . But this allows us to see the full range of options available for off-roaders, as well the price. The most expensive Bronco costs just under $64,000. We did this right after the configurator went live.
While we are used to seeing such configurators as a way to outfit the cars of our dreams, there is another aspect to this system that applies to automakers. The site allows visitors to browse through different trims and options. Some are serious buyers, while others just dream big. Ford can however extract all this data to determine what people are most interested in. This information is very useful for Broncos that aren’t going on sale for several months.
Ford was kind enough to share some of its early findings. Short answers to our questions are that Area 51 is most popular, Wildtrak the most desired trim, most buyers desire the 2.7-liter V6 and 10% prefer a manual transmission. The short answers may not be the definitive ones, since there is still much to do before production can begin.
Mark Gruber, Ford Consumer Marketing Manager, was kind enough to give us context for these preliminary stats.
Gruber explained that “what we’re seeing is because the first customer wants to check all of the boxes.” Customers looked at the vehicles and the Wildtrak was the next most expensive. It had many of the standard amenities. We are seeing the Badlands and we expect this to continue. Many customers find that this is a better fit. Wildtrak customers may move to Badlands.
Gruber stated that it’s not surprising that early data was available. We find it interesting that manual-equipped Broncos are at 10%. This is much higher than the manual take rate for autos. Ford also claims that two-door Broncos account for 33 percent of all reservations.
Gruber stated that customers are excited about the product. The highest trim series are those that customers choose most often. Big Bend and Base are more entry-level series. They’re combined at 22 percent with 78 percent for the higher series. Customers have chosen WildTrak as the number one series at 26 percent of their reservations. While still in a small number of reservations, the two-door is gaining momentum at about a third. This is a sign of a lot more demand for two-door.
Ford anticipates that the Bronco configurator will exceed 500,000 builds by October 27. More options are available before order banks open. Ford says that virtual builds are still far away from being purchased, but there are currently over 190,000. Ford also confirmed reservations to the resurrected offroader. It will be available for purchase next spring.