It’s Official: The Ford Bronco Is Coming To Europe

The Ford Bronco has been a smash hit across The Pond and is likely to repeat its success this side of the Atlantic. The reborn icon will be coming to Europe in 2023, but the bad news for UK fans is that it will only be available in left-hand-drive markets such as France and Germany in “strictly limited numbers.”

The Bronco name had been discontinued for around 25 years until it was reintroduced to the US market in 2020. When it was released, Ford’s SUV exceeded 150,000 orders in a matter of weeks – it’s still currently in high demand, which may explain why Ford can only provide a limited supply of Broncos to Europe.

Technical specs and prices for the European models have not yet been detailed, and it’s still unclear whether they’ll be getting the hot Raptor variant. We wouldn’t expect the 2.7-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine option to come to Europe, but never say never. Far more likely is the entry-level 2.3-litre Ecoboost inline-four. With 296bhp, it’s not that far away from the 325bhp six-cylinder anyway.

Although the Bronco has never been sold officially in the UK, it’s possible to buy left-hand-drive examples through third-party import specialists such as Clive Sutton, although they come with a hefty £73,000 ($88,500) price tag.

For context, the Bronco starts from around $30,000 (approx. £25,000) in the US, and the Outer Banks version – an identical model to the imported one being sold by Clive Sutton for £73,000 – starts from just under $40,000 (£33,000). That’s quite the mark-up. Expect the official European model to cost well over €30,000 (£26,000).

You’d be forgiven for being sceptical as to whether an American SUV would fit in on the continent, but CEO of Ford Jim Farley reckons the Bronco would suit European roads just fine. A few years back, before the news was official, he commented: “Absolutely, it works. I see all these Defenders around,” he said, adding, “I think it would work fine”. The current Land Rover Defender is slightly larger than the Bronco, we should point out, but not significantly so.

The smaller Bronco Sport also has European potential. Unlike its bigger bro, the five-door crossover is built on a conventional car platform rather than an old-school ladder chassis, sharing the same ‘C2’ architecture as the likes of the Kuga (called the Escape in North America) and the Maverick pick-up. For now, though, it’s just the Bronco that will be coming to Europe. Let’s pray for a future right-hand-drive model…