Half a decade ago, ford gave us our first concrete evidence that a new Bronco was in the making. At the time, we had no idea what would happen when the revived 4×4 hit the market, and now, almost four years after tumultuous launchproduction has more or less stabilized, setting the stage for a confrontation that has been going on for decades. Of course, we can 2024 Ford Bronco And 2024 Jeep Wrangler all day long, but the proof is in the pudding: Which ones do Americans want to buy? So far, the answer in 2024 appears to be: “WrestlerLet’s look at the numbers.
Turnover H1 2024:
- Jeep Wrangler – 77,204 (– 9.0%)
- Ford Bronco – 50,152 (– 14.4%)
Despite a respectable Q2 performance (Bronco While sales figures were roughly flat compared to the same three months in 2023, Ford still has a lot of ground to make up if it wants the Bronco to beat the Wrangler in 2024. Jeep has shown the opposite trend, with a strong Q1 performance partially offset by a nearly 18 percent drop in Q2. If Ford can keep pace as Jeep continues to slide, this could be an interesting fight. For now, Jeep’s lead of more than 50 percent is pretty convincing.
2023 H1 sale:
- Jeep Wrangler – 84,642
- Ford Bronco- 58,580
So far, history appears to be repeating itself. Jeep’s early lead has carried into 2023; by the end of December, the Wrangler was outselling the Bronco by nearly 50%. And even with 105,665 units sold, Ford’s midsize SUV is underperforming year-over-year, down nearly 10%. As we noted in our look at 2023 sales trends, it’s tough to use Covid-era data to gauge real-world popularity, but sometimes it’s all we have. In the case of the Bronco, we don’t have 2019 sales data to point to. Ford was still reeling from the aftershocks of the Bronco’s launch and an initial portfolio-wide quality crisis that would have delayed it into 2023, not to mention the late-summer labor strike. Both the Bronco and the Wrangler were early targets of the UAW.
Meanwhile, Jeep sold 156,581 Wranglers in the same period. That was also down from 2022 — by almost 20% in fact — and way less than in 2019, when Jeep sold 228,032 of its soft-top four-wheelers. In the years leading up to 2020, the Wrangler threatened to Toyota Camry. Today, the sedan has a comfortable margin of over 100,000 units. What happened? In a word, Bronco.
Why they are important:
The beauty of this rivalry is that we, the enthusiast buyers, always win. Competition beats breed, as they say, and we’ve seen clear evidence of that even over the course of a single generation of the Wrangler. The threat of the Bronco on the horizon spurred Jeep engineers to develop the JL Wrangler as we know it today. Its predecessor had only one engine (the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6); today’s truck is now available in five versions, including one with 375 hp plug-in hybrida 470 hp V8 and a now discontinued six-cylinder dieselSince its launch, Ford has worked hard to stay one step ahead of Jeep, with a Raptor model that can lap the Wrangler Rubicon 392 in a straight line but can circle it on soft surfaces.
Think about it: Jeep engineers could have fit the 5.7-liter Hemi in the JK Wrangler, but they didn’t. Why? Because the Wrangler was selling well as it was. And to make matters worse, it had a segment that existed only for itself. With no pressure to be better, it just kept going, and that’s an approach Jeep can no longer afford. The result is more cool Jeeps. What a world!
What to look out for in 2024:
In short, a balanced foundation. Ford is no longer as stuck as it was when the Bronco launched, and with supply chain issues largely ameliorated, things should only get smoother in 2024. Another standout is a pesky little vehicle called the Toyota Landcruiser. This time, Toyota is aimed at the mainstream, which means that Landcruiser affordable enough to be considered alongside the Wrangler and Bronco. And since it shares its underpinnings with the new Tacomathere is even the potential for more enthusiast-friendly options. Even if it doesn’t compete directly, it could distract buyers who want a more premium experience without paying for a luxury badge.