Envy
December 3, 2025
Jay RameyHigh-tech Bronco EV and EREV versions arrive in China, but that's not even the full extent of the Foreign Bronco Cinematic Universe.
It used to be the case that Europe got all the coolest cars first, ranging from hot hatches to all the sports sedans and wagons with manual transmissions. The grass was definitely greener on the other side of the Atlantic for a long time.
But this dynamic appears to have been displaced by a different one just within the past few years.
Now, it is painfully apparent that China is getting the more-advanced versions of some vehicles first, and by an ever-expanding margin.
The latest exhibit in this trend is the Ford Bronco nameplate — an SUV that at first blush appears far more suited for the North American tastes than for China’s. But just days ago at the Guangzhou auto show Ford launched something I am not expecting to see in the US for a long time, bringing a Bronco EV and EREV duo that also appear to be quite a bit more premium-flavored inside.
The Chinese-market Bronco EV draws juice from a massive 105.4-kWh battery courtesy of BYD, which buys it a range of 650 kilometers or 404 miles in the somewhat optimistic CLTC cycle. A dual-motor setup good for 445 hp provides the power.
It is also shockingly affordable, at least to American wallets, with a starting price of merely 259,800 RMB, which translates to about $36,700.
Needless to say, you’re not going to find a battery that big in any EV with a $36,700 sticker stateside.
The EREV version, meanwhile, is the less expensive one in the lineup and it will likely make even more sense to American eyes with a starting price around 229,800 RMB, or just over $32,300. Powered by a 43.7-kWh battery paired with a turbocharged 1.5-liter engine, it promises a 137-mile battery-only range, but a combined range of 758 miles.
Neither of these are headed stateside, I should note.
The EV and EREV Broncos appear to be aimed directly at the relatively new audience of weekend campers among the younger, active middle class — a cohort that barely existed a decade ago — and was not catered to sufficiently by automakers until just now.
But this doesn’t mean that these Broncos are spartan inside. Far from it, the models showed at Guangzhou boasted optional items like a refrigerator in the center console, an inflatable mattress, and a pop-up roof tent, seeking to impress weekend adventurers. And these Broncos aren’t short on interior tech.
An extensive ADAS sensor suite, known as Ford Fuyu, includes lidar and a collection of cameras, while the interior features a large 15.6″ infotainment screen in addition to a 70-inch augmented reality head-up display.
At first blush it would seem that Ford China, along with Jiangling Motors (JMC) the firm that is building these Broncos, have all the powertrain bases covered.
But there is one other Bronco variant in the works that the US might not receive either, and that’s a PHEV version slated for the European market, as Autocar reported this week. The model is expected to be built in Valencia, Spain, and is expected use a platform shared with the Kuga, better known stateside as the Escape, albeit with some differences.
But Autocar does not expect an EV version of any Bronco for Europe, owing to Ford’s limited success with EVs in this region, and with the Explorer and Capri EVs already filling that role. Those two, by the way, are also Europe-only, and aren’t headed here.
The broader emerging dynamic here is that China is now the country that receives some of the more advanced versions of global nameplates first, often with EV and EREV powertrains, and in much greater variety.
The US, meanwhile, is in a somewhat distant third place when it comes to ZEV and hybrid powertrains of all types, ADAS systems, and interior tech. And it’s a new place to find ourselves when it comes to global automaker priorities.
In fact, it’s not easy to pinpoint just where the US is first in a given category, but the extravagant interiors of some large and expensive pickup trucks certainly come to mind.
Recent Posts
All Posts
December 5, 2025
Peter Hughes
December 5, 2025
Leave a Reply