Bill Johnson, Ford’s Wayne Michigan plant chairman for United Automobile Workers (UAW) Local 900 confirms addition of Ford Ranger and Ford Bronco production according to an interview with the Detroit Free Press.
The latest news is that Ford is moving small car production, namely the Ford Focus and Ford C-Max, from the Wayne Michigan facility to Mexico. However, Ford is investing more resources (up to $4.8 Billion in Michigan over the next four years) to keep the Wayne plant churning out more vehicles without any loss to the workforce.
Bill Johnson made the following statement during the interview:
“We hate to see the products go to Mexico, but with the Ranger and the Bronco coming to Michigan Assembly that absolutely secures the future for our people a lot more than the Focus does.”
TFLtruck reached out to a Ford representative for comment. Ford’s statement is: “Ford is not making any new vehicle announcements at this time.”
TFLtruck reported on the topic of Ford Ranger coming back in August 2015. Information from about a year ago is consistent with the recent report by the Detroit Free Press. All of the unofficial information suggests that the next generation Ford Ranger will come before the Bronco. The Ranger is likely to go on sale in the United States in calendar year 2018 (perhaps as a 2019 model). The Bronco will follow after that. Will the next Bronco look like the sketch above provided by Bronco6G.com ? It’s anybody’s guess at this point as Ford refuses to make any official statements about this topic.
TFLtruck has a chance to speak with Doug Scott, Ford’s pickup truck marketing manager, on the topic of the upcoming Ford Ranger in this interview.