The Ford 4WD Aussies need but can't get

Ford has announced its Bronco is now available for pre-order in China making the wait for the cute off-road SUV for Australians that bit more frustrating. Don't stress too much, the Chinese version of the Bronco is unlikely to be the one that we’ll get.

CarsGuide reported back in 2022 that Ford was definitely bringing the Bronco to Australia with the company's global boss Jim Farley telling us: “(Ford) can do Bronco and Bronco Sport for the globe, for sure. But we have, like, a year or two order bank so we have a lot of work to do on our capacity before we can even consider something like that.”

There's still no Bronco in Australia but there is in China, now.  The Chinese model is understood to be very different from the version that we will get locally, if and when it ever comes.

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The Chinese Bronco has a smoother, more modern look with less of the retro highlights of it US cousin such as the round headlights and chunky black bonnet railing.

The powertrains of the Chinese Bronco are also very different from the US versions with a choice of battery electric (BEV) and hybrid powertrains.

The BEV variant uses two electric motors and has a 105.4kWh battery with a range of up to 650km (CLTC), while the hybrid combines a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine with dual motors and a 43.7kWh battery returning a claimed combined range of up to 1220km (CLTC).

The Bronco that finally does make its way to Australia is unlikely to be electric, instead we’re expecting to get a version of the US Bronco that are powered by turbo-petrol engines and have the same retro styling.

2026 Ford Bronco

The US Bronco is built on Ford’s T6 platform that underpins the Everest SUV and Ranger ute — a ladder frame chassis that’s integral to making them superbly capable off-road. 

When the Australian Bronco finally does arrive in Australia it's likely to be built on a further developed version of that T6 platform. 

A little plot twist as well is that our Bronco might not be built in the US and instead be made in China.