The new Ford Bronco has been a massive hit this year, with consumers clamoring for increased production of the constantly out-of-stock car. Now, Ford Motors is being forced to get creative in an attempt to decrease the demand for the Bronco.
The company will reportedly be offering buyers $2,500 towards a different vehicle if they cancel their Bronco order and buy a different vehicle from Ford. According to Cars Direct, this is an attempt to lessen the pain that the company has felt from recent supply chain issues. According to writer Alex Berstein:
“First, the 2023-Model Bronco Cancel Order & Purchase Replacement Offer offers what Ford calls “an additional incentive to cancel their current 23MY Bronco Order and retail order an eligible 23MY Ford vehicle.” The $2,500 incentive is available on vehicles with sales dates through April 3, 2023, on 7 different models.”
A company spokesperson confirmed to Kelly Blue Book that this story is true, adding that Ford is “notifying a small number of existing Bronco reservation and order holders that they can receive a 2023 model year Bronco if they remove certain constrained features, including the Sasquatch package, Molded in Color Hard Top and Lux Package.”
The same spokesperson said that even if a customer chooses not to take advantage of the $2,500 discount, Ford may still be forced to cancel the order and simply refund the buyer’s deposit.
Supply chain issues have plagued the industry for years, which was highlighted in a September CNN report that as many as 45,000 Ford vehicles were sat waiting at assembly plants while parts slowly trickled in. According to that article, the struggling global supply chain is at the forefront of many car-makers minds:
“A survey of members released by the National Association of Manufacturers Monday showed 78% saying supply chain disruptions are their primary business challenge, with only 11% now believing improvement will occur by the end of the year.
The survey also found 76% cited higher raw material costs such as those highlighted by Ford as a problem, with 40% saying that inflationary pressures are worse today than six months ago. And 76% said they’re having problems finding the workers they need.”
In November of last year, Ford CFO John Lawler spoke about these issues and seemed less than optimistic about the speed with which the economy can rebound in 2023, saying:
“As I said earlier, we expect the chip issue to continue into 2023. We don’t think there’s going to be a significant relief from that standpoint. So we’re going to be constrained.”
Ford CEO Jim Farley also agrees, saying that this may just be the new landscape of the car industry:
“And I guess I think we should kind of count on this happening for some time. I don’t think the labor market’s going to ease any time soon. It has a big impact on us, so we’re kind of running our business now and have developed a bit of a rhythm around this challenges that we’re seeing. And I think it’s going to extend way into next year. Does it end at next year or year after or halfway through? I don’t know. I don’t think we should count on any of that.”
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