During a recent interview with Muscle Cars & Trucks, Chevrolet and Jeep executives appeared to be relatively calm upon the future arrival of the Ford Bronco, despite both automakers offering direct and indirect rivals to the long-awaited Blue Oval nameplate.
Detroit Big Three’s spirit of competition has led to some incredible cars and exciting clashes, but the report gives the impression that General Motors and Fiat-Chrysler aren’t too worried once next Spring rolls around, which is when Ford confirmed the Bronco will launch after nearly three years of teasing and promising.
“We’re always in tune with the industry with what’s going on with other OEMs and what suppliers and customers are doing, but our focus is [Jeep] Wrangler and optimizing that… we’re not in a place where we’re reacting to others,” Mopar chief told Muscle Cars & Trucks. “If we’re doing our job right, it doesn’t matter what the others do.”
Considering the fact that Jeep has owned the off-road SUV segment for decades, it’s easy to see why the brand wouldn’t react to yet another incoming crossover promising to have healthy off-road chops. However, Chevrolet doesn’t have a direct competitor of the Bronco yet, but its Colorado ZR2 plays in the same off-road enthusiast arena as the Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco.
“I guess when (the Bronco) gets here, we’ll evaluate what that means,” Chevrolet Silverado chief marketing manager Hugh Milne, told the outlet at SEMA.
Whether General Motors will have a direct competitor to the Bronco or Jeep in the coming years isn’t known, but reports that the Bowtie had axed an upcoming off-road SUV surfaced prior to the UAW’s strike against GM. Only time will tell just what kind of impact the Bronco will have in the market, and let’s not forget that another small off-roader will be hitting the streets soon—but this one coming from across the pond and wearing a Land Rover badge.