Ford Doesn’t Exclude Right-Hand-Drive Bronco

Never say never.

By: Angel Sergeev

Oct 9, 2020 at 9:56am ET

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Shortly after the debut of the reborn Ford Bronco, the automaker confirmed it has no plans to sell the off-roader outside North America. Several months before that, even before the vehicle’s premiere, it was also reported that there’s no chance of seeing a right-hand-drive Bronco. That may be completely inaccurate, however.

Our colleagues at Ford Authority report the new Bronco can actually be configured for countries where cars drive on the left side of the road. That doesn’t necessarily mean an RHD Bronco is happening but it’s good to know that not all hope is lost.

“We’ve optimized for left-hand-drive,” Paul Wraith, the chief designer of the Bronco and Bronco Sport projects, told the online publication. “But we did look at right-hand drive, and Bronco is intensely famous here in the US but it’s pretty famous, or at least it was famous, elsewhere in the world. We’re always open to do all sorts of things in the future, but right now, we’re left-hand drive focused.”

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Obviously, his words don’t scream “we are coming to Europe” but at least the door is not fully closed. If Ford rethinks its strategy - inspired by the success of the Mustang on the Old continent - a switch to an RHD configuration won’t be difficult. Actually, it’ll be easier than expected to have a Bronco on sale in the United Kingdom, Australia, India, etc.

“Underneath the Bronco is its closest cousin – if you will – the Ranger…so the platform is capable of right hand drive,” Wraith added.

If we can give our two cents, the chances of seeing the Bronco outside North America are slim. Or, at least, during the first two or three model years until Ford works out a cheap solution to export the off-roader in Europe and deal with the continent’s super strict emissions standards.