The Ford Bronco created quite the media buzz when the Blue Oval first unveiled the 4×4 SUV back in July 2020. With sales of the Bronco catching up to that of the Jeep Wrangler, details around a General Motors equivalent have been nil. Now, according to GM President Mark Reuss, there won’t be a typical gasoline-powered Bronco and Wrangler rival from The General.
As reported by The Drive, General Motors has no plans to develop a direct competitor to the Bronco or Wrangler. Reuss stated that he doesn’t want GM to be the last of the Big Three to field an off-roading SUV of that sort, as well as deal with the corporate average fuel economy complications such an offering would create.
2022 Ford Bronco Everglades
That being said, Reuss did not rule out the possibility of GM developing an all-electric alternative to the Ford Bronco or Jeep Wrangler. Such a vehicle would likely be smaller than the GMC Hummer EV Pickup and GMC Hummer EV SUV.
2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV
As per previous coverage from GM Authority, General Motors is content in letting Ford and Jeep duke it out in the 4×4 body-on-frame SUV segment, preferring instead to focus on its electric vehicle and crossover offerings. In fact, the Chevy Blazer, which was a historical Bronco rival, has found new life as a unibody crossover, and sells quite well. As such, GM doesn’t seem very concerned about filling this hole in the lineup.
Nevertheless, it’s our opinion here at GM Authority that The General should seriously consider a competitor to the Bronco. In Ford’s decision to offer both the hardcore Bronco and the milder Bronco Sport, the Blue Oval is able to grow the Bronco brand as a whole, leading to outstanding sales for both. While GM does offer more rugged-looking variants for its unibody crossovers, like the Activ trim on the 2024 Chevy Trax or Chevy Trailblazer, or the AT4 trim across its GMC model lineup, it’s missing out on the success the Bronco currently enjoys.
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Comments
I think the drawing the other day and this were two big Easter eggs on what is coming.
GM continues their boring and unexciting future under Mary. The ZR2 isn’t a true Raptor or TRX fighter. They even placed the Blazer name on a pathetic crossover.
It wasn’t designed to be a fighter to those two. That is a small market with low sales (maybe 600k combined). And they are expensive to produce with all the specialty parts needed for the frame, body and suspension it doesn’t share with the regular versions. I bet they barely make a profit on each one.
A back roads ZR2 type of truck with a much less neutered payload and towing capacity versus those other two is a much better realistic type of truck and will make more money than the other two and be much more useable. Do you think the average buyer has a better chance of blasting through the desert at 100mph over whoops, or loading up and taking the family in the mountains or towing a SxS up a fire road? Yeah, that’s what I thought.
That crossover is selling well and much better aimed at the long game for a larger buying group. The Bronco barely sells 100k a year and the Blazer a little under that (chip shortage is hurting it). The Bronco is the new must have hype vehicle still selling over MSRP in cases, once the hype dies sales will, especially when people realize how bad it is as a DD and they don’t off road it. The Wrangler only has a 30% or so off road rate with its buyers (it was quoted around 40% over a decade ago and they have gotten much more pedestrian since), so people would much rather drive to work in comfort with a much more utilitarian and comfortable vehicle for most buyers (us car people are the minority).
Before you mention the Blazer name and the legacy, it was only around a little over two decades before it started being watered down with IFS, renamed the Tahoe and the Blazer name was attached to a small midsize suv and later a longer wheel base people mover. That name has very little heritage since the 80’s…
I love the old K5’s as much as the next guy. The S10 blazers were ok too. The current Blazer does not profess to be either of those. And yet, they’ve been a great success. Parts bin parts, existing capacity, nice styling and the sales numbers prove it was a good move. Yes, under Mary B.
Under Mary’s leadership, GM has remained an American company that is highly competitive globally. Say what you want about RAM TRX and Ford Ruptures – GM still sells more full-sized pickups than any of the others. And with ZR2, I dare say from a dollar to off-road performance perspective, it IS the most competitive as well. By that I mean for the money, and for what most people actually will do off-road, the ZR2 is MORE competitive.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and all should vote with their wallets and buy what they believe is the best, but the data proves that under Mary’s leadership, GM is the most successful (sales, quality, profitability) American and one of the most successful Global automobile companies.
GM is headed into a Very bad future With just BEVs with Bad reliability, like Tesla meanwhile Ford bronco and Raptor, jeep wrangler, RAM TRX, Toyota TRD, Honda CRV will sell millions and Chevrolet will go bankrupt
Honda as a whole is not exactly in the best shape right now.
What Chevrolet has the highest rebate? The Bolt. That should tell them all they need to know. I work in a Chevrolet store. What’s the number one sales call for? A 6.2 V8 Silverado followed by a 6.2 V8 Tahoe. Number three is a Corvette, another 6.2 V8. When one shows up on the website as “in transit”. Calls come from up to 500 miles away. I have one customer that has waited over a year to get a 6.2 V8. He has one now and won’t accept anything else. Fortunately, his new one arrived today. A competitor for the Bronco and Maverick would be big sellers as well.
How many Maverick have been sold? Are you basing it on the Fact Ford say it is sold out or did you look up the number?
It is far from selling close to an Equinox.
It is also sold out only because Ford has limited production.
Fun gets the press the boring pays the bills. I hate to say that but it is true.
For every Raptor there has to be 5 Escapes to account for the corporate average.
Talk about boring get an Escape.
@CR.8 I have no clue about Maverick sales but I do know trucks sales can’t continue for long with the current inflated truck prices. Incomes aren’t increasing at the same pace. Most trucks owners haul mulch a couple of times a year and a piece of furniture here and there. I truly believe a Maverick competitor would sell and steadily gain year after year in the marketplace. It’s a no brainer.
To your point, the local Chevy dealership calls me weekly begging me to trade in my older Silverado or my Malibu. Every time I ask if they have 6.2 Silverado (for me) or a Bronco in their used lot (for my wife). The answer is obviously always a no. Yet the fool on the phone tries to somehow try and convince me into a 4 cylinder turbo Silverado or a Blazer. These sales people they have are completely clueless as to what people really want. I want a Silverado that can pull my camper on a week long camping trip with a average distance of 500 miles round trip. My wife loves to offroad during those trips in a open (top and doors removed) SUV that can actually drive into areas most others cannot. Also, driving hear in Phoenix year round with the top off is something we’ve been used to doing for decades. A Blazer only has the ability to drive over some un-kept grass and that’s about it. The point is that GM no longer cares about what the consumer wants. They would rather try to force us into EV’s that simply cannot replace ICE vehicles due to so many limitations. An EV could only serve as a third vehicle within my family for small commutes, nothing more. Their cost is simply to high to ever justify purchasing one. I would simply be burning a ton of cash for nothing.
It is about more than you. When you run a large company like Mark you have to meet the expectations of a number of conflicting groups from government to customers and more.
The cold harsh reality is GM could offer all you like but then they would have to sell even more crappy 3 cylinder cars to make up for it that are hard to move.
Now as the sales of EV models increase they can and will open the door for some cool things but they will be limited due to law restricting ICE sales in the future.
I expect with the drawing just shown and the note here we will see an smaller top removing EV coming soon. Jeep is already pushing a conversion one.
An EV can and will serve the needs of 85% of the market. GM will keep alive the ICE as long as they can but even Chrysler is killing the V8 already and Ford is very limited. GM has the best V8 selection and will come with a new model. Just do not expect it in a Half ton as the regulation kill that.
I understand and and get your emotional feeling but we all need to swallow a cup of reality in this. If it were up to GM they would give you an 8.5 in a half ton if it fit the regulations but it will not.
Time to blame those making the laws not those who are being forced to follow them.
Now get this clear. GM would not be doing EV models if not for the laws and regulations they are facing. All MFGs are in the same boat.
And depending on where you live and who you voted for you may also to blame too in some cases.
Take a step back and think why they might be calling for a 6.2. How many 5.3’s are on the lot and are sold versus how many calls you get for a 6.2. That statement you made has zero reflection on the customer base, all you are saying is a select few that want the 6.2 can’t find them because production is low on that engine choice.
A Bronco competitor would be a poor sales choice. The Wrangler has been slowing with sales, even more with the Bronco arrival (which it only sells around 100k and it is still the hot new item). It took some sales away from Jeep and gained some new loyal Ford buyers but otherwise it maybe expanded the market by like 50k units. If GM enters that market might only grow a little more and these aren’t financially viable vehicles to produce. They are very unique and expensive. These types of vehicles ones the hype dies down sales tank too. Look at the FJ and Gladiator as recent examples.
Just because a group of car guys want it doesn’t mean everyone does, that is a minority group. I would rather GM continue to be extremely profitable and put those resources to improve their vehicles than have to try do what like Ford did with the Explorer and half baked F150 EV among others.
It is a good reason you aren’t running the show along with many other commenters on here, GM would be in the tanker with a few specialty vehicles and a sub $1.00 stock price.
Wow, gm is no fun anymore.
Another DUMBASS GM DECISION. I was glad the government helped them out in 08-09 but if I thought this would have been the result I would have said ” Last one out turn off the lights”.
It is the government that is forcing this and they all will be doing the same soon. If you want a Chrysler V8 you had better buy it now.
Does the Bronco have a V8 no.
Ford Stock $12.15 at the moment GM stock $42.42. Add Record profits last year on top of that even with production and supply issues.
This is not about fun it is about survival.
Last I knew, the government is supposed to carry out the will of the people.
And the will of the people don’t want Bronco’s and Raptors and TRX’s, that is a low selling specialty market that isn’t profitable. Ford sells maybe 40k Raptors a year, TRX much less, and the Bronco is currently around 100k with all the hype and newness behind it, it won’t last. The FJ, Gladiator and many others also had hype that dies off with sales. When people realize they aren’t good DD’s that they are only used for. Most people who buy vehicles like this don’t use them for what they were designed for and shortly after realize how bad they are at regular tasks and trade them in. Plus they are expensive to design and build, not exactly making a ton of positive cash flow.
Given a choice to produce a midsize regular CUV or a midsize off roader, one will sell better long term and be better financially than the other, hint, it isn’t the off roader.
People need to realize when you are on a car site, you are in the minority.
I’m referring to the part where C8.R is beating the drum of the government is forcing the poor automakers to make EVs, regardless of what the people being governed want.
Depends on who you vote for.
Those I voted for were not for all this global warming crap.
Buick’s line-up confirms this.
Sad thing is, they show glimmers of potential (Cadillac Blackwings, as an example), but are unwilling to develop those more by giving Buick an offshoot to wake up that near-dead brand.
GM really needs to wake up – the solution is so obvious. They have brand recognition with HUMMER (even though it is a sub-brand right now), and they have traditionally been significantly better looking and off-road than Jeeps, let alone a Bronco. There’s no reason they can’t have an ICE powered, beefy but smaller HUMMER out there to kick Jeep and Bronco ass. They have it in them, but apparently Mary Barra would like to see GM become more like Honda.
They may not wake up but at least they’re woke!
No thanks, no EV’s wanted here, I will just have to consider a Bronco. I’m tired of waiting on GM to build something comparable. GM needs to wake up and build what their customers want.
Mary, with all of her awards and media accolades, says she and GM know what you want more than you do.
GM outsells Ford and is more profitable, so GM is very aware of what their customers want, which is much more accurate than posters in online echo chambers want.
You are a small piece of the customer base. The Bronco sells just over 100k a year and that is partially because of the newness of it. So many of these (and Wranglers) end up on used sales lots when people who buy them not what they are for (to off road) realize how crappy they are as a DD. The Blazer was a much better long term choice. Just because something is new, hot and different doesn’t mean it will stay that way. Look at the Gladiator, FJ and any other unique vehicle that sales dropped after a few years when they don’t make a good DD what 95% use them for.
GM is a business, and going after saturated, specialty low volume markets does not make business sense. Who is in the better financial position now? GM by far because they aren’t chasing 40k in sales of specialty high performance pick up or completely unique builds of an off roader (Bronco) that isn’t sustainable.
Would that be cool? Yes, but I would rather they make money and put their resources to making better vehicles than chasing a small group of specialty buyers that don’t know what they want but shop with their eyes or chase an image for a temporary sale.
Not interested in EV’s, Not against them either, I just don’t want one as a primary or secondary vehicle. I love the idea of a GM ICE competitor and I would have been a buyer……….but
They had nothing to even garner interest and I have bought my first Ford ever, a 2022 Bronco Big Bend 2 Door. And while I have to admit the thought of a Ford in my garage was hard at first, I’ve grown to love this little truck and it has become my family’s main driver.
Just wish GM would have realized, like somebody posted earlier, what we really want as opposed to what left extremists want us to have.
Yeah, I bleed GM blood with father and grandfather both retirees and multiple other family members retired as well, but I have been waiting for GM to produce something to compete with the Wrangler and Bronco but it’s not going to happen. I have also been looking at the 2-door Bronco. If is ideal since I refuse to drive anything with a Chrysler drive train in it.
Chevy, I was the same way when I bought my first F-150 in 2019. A bit difficult to let go regarding loyalty (blind at times), but both my F-150s have successfully changed my mind. They’ve been excellent trucks.
It was well past time that I opened my mind and decided to go test drive the first F-150. Glad I did. Fantastic trucks.
In the process, I opened my mind even more by buying my wife a new leftover 2018 Escape, and my two kids a pair of Rangers.
The 2018 Escape has been trouble-free during its 52,000 miles, and my kid’s 2019 and 2010 Rangers have been excellent,
Just speaking from real-world experience, not opinion or emotion like so many do here.
Two trucks in four years, doesn’t give enough time to determine they are excellent. They may be nice but they are tools and longevity and capability is what determines how good they are, not that they are nice luxury vehicles you switch out every 2-3 years…
I’ll make this easy for you since you have all the answers for what people want:
I had my Suburban for 4 years. It was a disappointing piece of crap. I’m now interested in Ford and not having even a tiny fraction of the problems.
Is that good enough “commonsense” for you, or are you never satisfied with other people’s choices?
Why are you whining that GM doesn’t produce a Bronco/wrangler competitor when you won’t even consider a GM product to begin with? since you think Ford is so much better.
Just another clueless troll who posts endlessly relating to a manufacturer who you don’t care about. Such a pathetic life.
Why can’t you be even a tiny bit critical of GM’s and Mary’s dumbassery?
The fact that I was critical and moved on from my once-strong love of GM really seems to bother you, huh?
If GM wants to win me (and millions of others) back as a customer, they need to fight for it. That’s just not happening.
I wonder what it is going to take for GM to realize that most of us don’t want an all electric or underpowered 4 cylinder turbo pickup. I may end up holding on to my 1500 diesel crew cab forever or, God forbid, changing brands—if there are any half ton trucks left that haven’t gone far left electric.
I love when people say “most of us” like they are the norm. You do realize being on a car forum you are in the minority right? I am a car guy and a fan of electric in many cases. The industry as a whole is heading that way (not just GM and not just some woke leftist movement, I vote red but I am also not blind). The four cylinder truck is selling well and is outperforming the 5.3 in most cases. Just because you have some outdated complex on what size engine is a minimum (you drive a little 3.0 liter btw) doesn’t mean that fist most the others…
Based on the comments here, it seems you are the minority.
Commonsense, it’s too bad that in order for you to reply you felt that a personal attack on me was warranted and necessary. I guess haters gotta hate. And FYI, I realize this is a forum but I don’t believe, based on the comments I read, that I am in the minority. You can be a fan of electric cars if you wish, I am not. And my ‘little’ 3.0 has more torque than the 2.7. Yes, the 5.3 has more torque than I do, but the difference between EPA 21 mpg for the 5.3 and my real world 30+ is pretty big. Torque is what moves the vehicle. In addition, can you show me an electric car that will get me over 700 miles on each fill? Here in the boonies, we have a good life but not a lot of chargers. I guess in your mind that makes us stupid and/or uninformed.
You drive 700 miles a day? Don’t go past a charger while driving that far? Or just not capable of understanding that you can recharge every night at home and you won’t have to waste time going to the gas station all the time?
Why do all that if what we have now does the same job better and faster?
Clearly, you just can’t help yourself, can you? Not that it’s any of your business but yes, somedays I drive 700 miles for work. But that wasn’t the point. The point was that if I want to drive from where I live to see family and friends 500 or 600 miles away, I can do it without stopping every couple hundred miles to sit in a line and wait to charge the car. And yes, I’m sure I pass a charger now and then but they’re few and far between on the secondary road system. Plus, I’m not really interested in upgrading my existing home service to 300 or 400 amps just so I can join the throng of people rushing to buy EV’s. I guess you find it really easy to continue your hateful comments. That’s okay, I have pretty thick skin and I won’t stoop to your level. It’s all good. You’re welcome to your opinion and I have mine. Neither will change the other.
Show me the electric full size truck that charges fully in the time it takes me to put 20 gallons of diesel in and clean the windshield, and then be driven another 600 miles (and repeat) and I will become a believer and a customer. Until then, I stay with my 3.0 diesel.
I’m with you all the way. Love my diesel!
For what is worth I hate Jeeps, death wobble and stone chip from exposed tires as well cold with the soft top.
But after being in the lates Wrangler and Bronco the Jeep is a much better vehicle.
Just slam the door on the Bronco and listen to the ting because they were so cheap they did not put sound deadener in the doors. They are put together very cheap. Front brakes are single piston floaters on a $60,000 model yet my $40,000 Canyon has 4 piston fronts!
Look under the king and you will find a lot of short cuts.
I know that you know, but I’ll repeat it anyway. Bronco and Jeeps have “crappy” doors because they’re removable… that’s also why door controls are in the consoles, to keep down weight and complexity. It isn’t just a Bronco thing, but if you think it is you really haven’t been in many Jeeps. The only sound deadening in either vehicle is in the floor and firewall… because everything else literally comes off and is made to be as painless as possible.
The Canyon has bigger brakes because it has a much higher towing capacity and is expected to stop that weight as well.. but you already knew that too..