Ford Bronco Pickup: Canceled, Coming, or Wishful Thinking?

Last updated: May 2026 | 9 min read

Where Is the Ford Bronco Pickup in 2026?

The Ford Bronco pickup release date was supposed to be mid-2024, with the truck arriving as a 2025 model. MotorTrend broke the story on July 23, 2020, citing inside sources at Ford. The truck would have given the Bronco SUV a bed, removable roof panels, and a direct line of fire at the Jeep Gladiator. Six years later, you cannot order one. Ford’s official Bronco family page still shows two vehicles, the Bronco SUV and the Bronco Sport. There is no pickup, no order guide, and no spy shots from any verified Ford test fleet.

You are not imagining things. The truck was a real internal program at Ford. Then in August 2021, Automotive News and The Drive both reported the automaker had quietly told its suppliers the project was canceled. Their reporting was solid. Ford never publicly denied it. However, the silence since 2021 has done something interesting. It created a vacuum which enthusiast forums and YouTube speculation have been filling for almost five years.

This article walks you through the original reporting, the cancellation, the reasons Ford likely walked away, and the wild card which arrived in late 2025. If you have been waiting on this truck since the 2020 reveal, the news is mixed. The truck you wanted is dead. Something resembling it might still happen, but probably not under the Bronco badge.

Bronco Pickup: Planned vs. Delivered

Detail	What Was Reported (2020)	What Happened
Launch year	2025 model, mid-2024 release	Never released
Cab style	Four-door Crew Cab	N/A
Engines	2.3-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder, 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6	N/A
Estimated price range	$30,000 base to $60,000+ First Edition	N/A
Direct competitor	Jeep Gladiator	Gladiator faces no Ford rival
Cancellation report	August 25, 2021 (Automotive News, The Drive)	Confirmed by supplier sources

The 2020 MotorTrend Bombshell

On July 23, 2020, MotorTrend published an exclusive report titled “Ford Bronco Pickup Truck: Here’s What We Know About It.” The reporting cited inside sources at Ford and laid out detail you do not get from speculation. The Bronco pickup would have arrived as a 2025 model, with a mid-2024 on-sale window. It would share its engine lineup with the Bronco SUV, meaning a 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder and a 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6, although the rumored 5.0-liter V8 was unlikely. Pricing was projected to start near $30,000 and climb past $60,000 for a First Edition.

Crucially, MotorTrend reported the truck would be a four-door Crew Cab. This single detail told you Ford was aiming squarely at the Jeep Gladiator, which only sells as a four-door. The open-bed Bronco would have inherited the Bronco SUV’s G.O.A.T. drive modes, removable roof panels, and Sasquatch-style off-road hardware. For Bronco loyalists, the report read like a confirmation of every wish on the forum thread. Ford never officially commented. Then the project went quiet.

The 2021 Cancellation Reports

Thirteen months later, the silence broke. Automotive News reporter Michael Martinez ran the cancellation story on August 25, 2021 under the headline “Ford cancels Bronco-based pickup,” writing the automaker “had planned the truck to go on sale in 2024 but in recent months has informed suppliers the program was canceled.” Within hours, The Drive’s Peter Holderith filed a confirmation piece, “Rumored Ford Bronco Pickup Canceled: Report,” citing the same supplier-side intelligence. The Truth About Cars, Motor1, and Motor Authority all picked up the story by the end of the day.

Notably, the Automotive News framing buried a key reason in the deck: “New vehicle would have given Ford 3 pickups smaller than F-150 and undermine EV push.” This single line tells you what Ford executives concluded internally. The Bronco pickup canceled decision came down to lineup overlap and EV investment priorities. Ford never issued a denial. Likewise, Ford never confirmed the cancellation publicly. Six years on, the silence remains the most informative part of the story.

Why Ford Walked Away

The business case fell apart for three reasons which compound each other. First, Ford’s pickup lineup was already crowded. By 2022, Ford was selling the Maverick at the entry level, the Ranger as a midsize, the F-150 as the full-size best-seller, and the Super Duty for heavy hauling. Adding a Bronco pickup would have wedged a fourth distinct product into a segment where the Ranger and Maverick were already fighting for space. The Ranger Raptor, which arrived for 2024, took the off-road performance role a Bronco pickup would have owned.

Second, the timing collided with the F-150 Lightning launch and Ford’s broader EV pivot. Automotive News specifically cited the EV push as a competing priority. Building a new internal-combustion off-road pickup in 2022 to 2024 required engineering bandwidth Ford was redirecting toward batteries and software. Third, the Jeep Gladiator’s sales numbers cooled after the initial launch, suggesting the open-air pickup category was real but smaller than Ford strategists hoped. For context on the Ranger overlap problem, see the 2022 Ford Ranger reveal, which showed how much off-road capability the Ranger would already cover.

What the Bronco Pickup Would Have Looked Like

Working from the MotorTrend reporting and the Bronco SUV parts bin, you get a clear picture of what Ford was building. A four-door Crew Cab layout would have used a wheelbase stretched from the four-door Bronco, with a short bed roughly five feet long. Above the cab, the roof panels would have come off similar to the Bronco SUV. Door removal was likely, given Ford engineered the Bronco SUV doors to detach without tools.

Powertrain options would have mirrored the Bronco SUV. Ford’s 2.3-liter EcoBoost produces around 300 horsepower in the SUV. By comparison, the 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 produces around 330. Both pair with a ten-speed automatic. The off-road hardware would have come from the Sasquatch package, including 35-inch tires, front and rear locking differentials, and Bilstein shocks. A Raptor-grade variant remained possible later in the cycle. For reference, the production 2025 Ford Bronco Raptor rolls on factory 37-inch all-terrain tires, confirmed on Ford’s spec sheet, suggesting any Bronco pickup Raptor would have done the same.

The Ranchero EV Wildcard

In August 2025, Ford filed a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office application for the name “Ranchero.” Car and Driver reported the filing in October 2025 under the headline “Ford Patents ‘Ranchero’ as Possible Name for New Electric Truck.” MotorTrend followed with deeper reporting on a $30,000 Ranchero EV in development at Ford’s Long Beach EV center. Specifically, the reporting points to a midsize electric pickup positioned below the Maverick, on a new low-cost EV platform Ford has been building for affordable electrified products.

This matters for Bronco pickup hopes for two reasons. First, the trademark confirms Ford is still interested in a smaller, lifestyle-oriented pickup, although not under the Bronco badge. Second, the Ranchero name carries the same emotional pull the Bronco does, and Ford likely sees more upside reviving Ranchero than fragmenting the Bronco family. Separately, Ford CEO Jim Farley confirmed in April 2026 a hybrid Bronco SUV is coming. Car and Driver published the news as part of Ford’s broader hybridization plan. So the Bronco brand is being expanded, but with hybrid SUV power, not a pickup variant.

What Bronco Forums Are Saying Right Now

If you spend ten minutes on the Bronco6G forum, you find an entire dedicated subforum still titled “Bronco Pickup Forum” with threads dating back to 2020 and active posts in 2026. Reddit’s r/FordBronco hosts recurring posts like “Ford, Please Make This!” where users render their own Bronco pickup mockups and beg Ford to revisit the idea. On r/whatifcars, a recent thread titled “What if Ford made a bronco pickup?” attracted users claiming insider knowledge of “a new ICE pickup at one of their plants” unrelated to the Ranger or Maverick.

The enthusiast tone is consistent across platforms. Owners of the Bronco SUV, especially Sasquatch and Badlands trim buyers, see a pickup version as the missing piece. Many cite the Jeep Gladiator’s 7,700-pound towing capacity and roof-panel design as proof the formula works. Forum sentiment also leans skeptical of the Ranchero EV rumor, with posters arguing an electric powertrain misses the Bronco identity entirely. As one Reddit comment paraphrased the sentiment: a Bronco without a V6 and a removable roof is a CR-V with desert-tan paint.

Bronco vs Gladiator: How They Would Have Stacked Up

Any Bronco vs Gladiator comparison starts with the basics. The Jeep Gladiator remains the only mainstream pickup combining a removable roof, removable doors, and a usable five-foot bed. According to Jeep, the 2026 Gladiator delivers a maximum towing capacity of 7,700 pounds and a maximum payload of 1,720 pounds when properly equipped. The Bronco pickup would have needed to match or beat those numbers to compete, while also offering similar roof and door modularity. For a deeper look at the Gladiator on which the comparison would have hinged, see the 2020 Jeep Gladiator review, which covers the launch model defining the segment.

Where the Bronco pickup would have likely won is on-road manners and modern interior tech. While the Bronco SUV uses an independent front suspension, the Gladiator runs a solid front axle. This Wrangler/Gladiator chassis prioritizes off-road articulation but penalizes pavement comfort. Therefore, for a buyer who wants 80 percent of the Gladiator’s open-air appeal with a softer daily-driver feel, the Bronco pickup would have been a meaningful alternative. On the other hand, for pure rock-crawling, the Gladiator’s solid front axle still wins. Both points came up repeatedly in the Ford Bronco vs. Jeep Wrangler comparison, which applies almost identically to the pickup matchup.

Pros and Cons of the Bronco Pickup Idea

Final Verdict

The Ford Bronco pickup is best understood as a project Ford seriously considered, internally developed, and then quietly killed because the math stopped working. For buyers who wanted a Ford alternative to the Jeep Gladiator, the truck you imagined was real for about a year inside Ford’s product planning, then it was gone. As of May 2026, no public evidence supports an imminent launch. There is no teaser, no prototype caught on a verified Ford test fleet, no order guide, and no CEO statement.

However, the broader story has not closed. Ford trademarked Ranchero in August 2025 and is reportedly developing a $30,000 EV pickup capable of filling the lifestyle-truck slot a Bronco pickup would have occupied. Separately, Jim Farley confirmed a hybrid Bronco in April 2026, expanding the Bronco family without adding a pickup. So the Bronco identity is being protected and extended, while the pickup version of it is being rerouted into a different vehicle, likely under a different name, possibly with a different powertrain. For a Bronco loyalist, this is a partial win and a partial loss. Meanwhile, the existing Ford Bronco SUV remains the closest thing Ford sells to what a Bronco pickup would have felt like, and the Jeep Gladiator remains the only way to buy an open-air, four-door, removable-roof pickup off a dealer lot today.

If you have been waiting since 2020, stop waiting. Buy the Bronco SUV, the Ranger Raptor, or the Gladiator. The Ford Bronco pickup as MotorTrend described it is not coming. Whatever Ford builds next under the Ranchero name will be its own vehicle with its own identity, and forcing Bronco expectations onto it will likely lead to disappointment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Ford Bronco pickup canceled?

Yes, according to multiple credible reports. On August 25, 2021, Automotive News and The Drive both reported Ford had told suppliers the Bronco pickup canceled decision was final. Ford has never officially confirmed the cancellation, although it has also never denied it.

What was the Ford Bronco pickup release date?

MotorTrend reported on July 23, 2020 the Ford Bronco pickup release date was set for mid-2024 as a 2025 model. The truck would have launched as a four-door Crew Cab with EcoBoost engine options shared with the SUV.

Will the Ford Bronco pickup come back?

As of May 2026, no verified evidence shows Ford has revived the program. However, Ford trademarked “Ranchero” in August 2025, and MotorTrend and Car and Driver suggest an affordable midsize EV pickup is in development. Whether it carries Bronco DNA remains unclear.

What is the Ford Ranchero EV?

The Ford Ranchero EV is a rumored midsize electric pickup reportedly under development at Ford’s Long Beach EV center, with a target price near $30,000. According to multiple outlets, Ford secured the trademark through a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office filing in August 2025.

How would the Bronco vs Gladiator matchup have played out?

The Bronco pickup would have offered open-air appeal with removable roof panels and doors, plus independent front suspension for a softer ride. According to Jeep, the 2026 Gladiator delivers 7,700 pounds of towing and 1,720 pounds of payload. Ford would have needed to match those numbers and undercut Gladiator pricing.

Is the Bronco hybrid the same as a Bronco pickup?

No. In April 2026, Ford CEO Jim Farley confirmed a Bronco hybrid as part of Ford’s broader electrification plan. The hybrid model is an SUV variant, not a pickup, so this announcement does not signal a revival.