Jeep and Chevrolet aren’t too worried about the Ford Bronco coming back to the market. Apparently.
Speaking with Muscle Cars & Trucks, representatives from both FCA and Chevrolet didn’t seem too nervous about the return of the Ford Bronco in the rugged utility vehicle segment.
Scheduled for next spring, the redesigned Ford Bronco will mainly take on the Jeep Wrangler, but the Chevrolet Blazer, Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 and Toyota 4Runner will also be in the Bronco’s sights. Still, Jeep is focused on developing the best possible Bronco while Chevrolet is in wait-and-see mode.
Speaking with Kim Mathers, the head of Mopar performance and accessories at SEMA, Muscle Cars & Trucks were told that Jeep didn’t really care what others did “if we’re doing our job right”.
As for Chevrolet, Silverado marketing manager Hugh Milne simply said “I guess when it gets here, we’ll evaluate what that means”.
Granted, this isn’t all that surprising. No automaker will outwardly state that they are worried about inbound competition. We also believe Jeep when they say they aren’t paying much attention to the Bronco given how popular the Wrangler is and has always been.
We’d think they would be a little more worried over at Chevrolet. The automaker doesn’t have a true direct competitor to the Wrangler or Bronco, but they probably should. This is a huge segment for North America and Chevy may long for a rival once the Bronco arrives, especially since it will likely do very well on the market.
The thing to do is check back at the same time next year and see who is worried then.
