Some Ford Bronco buyers that have had their Bronco reserved for over a year still don’t have as much as a build date. This follows Ford’s sad trend of having trouble getting out of the gate with new-model launches. But if you read between the lines, Ford has been warning this would happen for over a year as well.

“Unfortunately, some are going to have to wait until 2022”

“The reason the wait is potentially until 2022 is because this first model year is a real short model year,” said Mark Grueber, Ford’s consumer marketing manager. “It’s only seven months, and with 125,000 units, we’re going to build all the orders, but some of them, unfortunately, are going to have to wait until 2022.”

He told this to the Detroit News back in March. Ford had already warned specific options could force it to move some reserved Broncos until 2022. So the bottom line is if you really want to reserve a new Bronco you better be patient. Real patient.

Being patient for your reserved Bronco is better than being beta testers

But being patient is better than being beta testers. That is what some Ford Mustang Mach-E owners feel they have become. MotorBiscuit even related how one owner was told their Mach-E was “unfixable.” 

Getting new products out, especially with all of the components and complexity they contain, is a monumental challenge. And that doesn’t even take into consideration parts supplies, service training, marketing, and all of the other tangents that go with producing a car. But, Ford has been doing this for over 100 years.

One would think after 100 years doing this thousands of times it would have all of this down? But the launch of its Explorer in 2019, recent setbacks for the new F-150, and issues with the Mach-E have shown it is becoming more of a mystery than previously imagined. 

Reserved Broncos are helping to sell Jeep Wranglers?

MotorBiscuit also recently covered the jump in Jeep Wrangler sales for Q2 2021. Many think the Bronco is doing that for Jeep from all of the hype and anticipation, as everyone waits to see their first one. We’ve seen on some Bronco forums enough frustration from posters. Some that reserved one are considering dropping their reservations and getting a Wrangler instead. 

It’s summertime. They surely must have had visions of heading out to the desert or off-road destinations with their shiny new Bronco. Their bank account is shy of the deposit, their reserved Bronco has no start date, and their friends on Instagram are seen having a blast with their Wranglers instead. Ouch!

Ford is on a huge roll right now. Besides the F-150, F-150 Lightning, Maverick, and Mach-E, they’re getting ready to launch a new Ranger and Mustang in the not too distant future. A mid-engine Corvette fighter priced around $100,000 might also be on the table. Yes, it’s great to be Ford. Except when it comes to new model launches, that is.