- GM won’t challenge the Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler with a gas-powered off-roader, president Mark Reuss said in an interview with The ride.
- Reuss said he didn’t want GM to be “late to the party” and expressed concern about how a gas-powered 4×4 would affect the company’s average emissions.
- GM could still build an electric SUV to slot in under the GMC Hummer EV in terms of size, which could also wear a Hummer badge to create a family of electric 4x4s.
Sorry, General Motors enthusiasts, but a Ford Bronco rival isn’t happening. While the meteoric rise of the SUV over the past decade has seen Ford re-enter the off-road space, GM has decided not to play—at least not with a combustion engine 4×4 SUV. GM President Mark Reuss confirmed this The ride in an interview at the 24 Hours of Daytona, stating bluntly, “I’m not going to do a Bronco.”
2023 Ford Bronco Heritage Edition.
Reuss’ reasoning is twofold. Ford’s Bronco has joined the Jeep Wrangler in the off-road segment for 2021, and GM doesn’t want to be seen as “late to the party,” which will certainly give it the time it will take to develop a true competitor . those SUVs. Reuss also sees how a potential off-roader could negatively impact GM’s corporate average fuel economy. Reuss claims, according to The ridethat Ford had to make the popular Maverick pickup available as a hybrid in order to compensate for the poor emissions of gas-powered bigs like the Bronco.
GM does still offer its midsize pickups with serious off-road packages, including the Chevy Colorado ZR2 and GMC Canyon AT4X. But it no longer offers body-on-frame midsize SUVs like it did in the past with models like the Chevy Blazer, GMC Jimmy and several Hummer models that all died when that brand was shut down.
More recently, rumors have circulated of a revived GMC Jimmy to take on the Wrangler, with reports in 2019 suggesting a body-on-frame off-roader starting around $30,000. But as Ford revived the Bronco with great fanfare, GM remained silent. And that will continue to be the case, at least until GM feels it can create a fully capable EV off-roader.
When The ride Reuss asked if he was opposed to an electric Bronco competitor, his response was, “I didn’t say that.” While one could argue that the GMC Hummer EV, due to begin production in late 2021, fills that space, that behemoth’s 216.8-inch length and 135.6-inch wheelbase dwarf the Bronco, which remains less than 200 inches long with a wheelbase of approximately 116 inches. In reality, Car news reported late last year that GM was considering a midsize Hummer EV to expand the rejuvenated brand. Whatever badge the vehicle wears, we now know that any future off-roader from General Motors will definitely be electric, at least as long as Reuss is in charge.
