If you're waiting for General Motors to launch a rival to the current Ford Bronco, the boss of GM has some bad news.
"I'm not gonna do a Bronco," GM president Mark Reuss said in a recent interview with The Drive. At least, not one powered by an internal-combustion engine.
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While the Bronco has been a sales success for Ford, and the rival Jeep Wrangler remains a bright spot for Stellantis, Reuss said he isn't interested in being "late to the party." Launching a Bronco rival now would force GM to play catch-up to its Detroit rivals.
Reuss also expressed concern about the impact of a new body-on-frame off-roader on GM's Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standings, claiming Ford has to sell vehicles like the Maverick hybrid pickup truck to balance out the large number of non-electrified models in its current lineup. He doesn't want to put GM in the same position.
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That doesn't mean GM is getting out of the off-road game. In the interview, Reuss didn't dismiss the idea of an electric off-roader. GM has already staked a claim on this idea with the GMC Hummer EV, which is based on the Ultium component set the automaker plans to use for a wide range of EVs across its brands. So instead of copying rivals, an electric off-roader would be in keeping with GM's overall strategy.
GM is reportedly mulling a mid-size Hummer model that would likely be a better Bronco rival than the current Hummer EV, which stretches almost 217 inches weighs more than 9,000 pounds in pickup form. With Jeep set to launch its Wrangler-like Recon EV in 2024 that would, in a reverse of the current situation, leave Ford as the only Detroit automaker without an electric off-road SUV.