The 2022 Model Year Will Bring Some Changes for the Ford Bronco

Most of us no doubt hope that the coming year brings a great degree of normalcy, and Ford isn’t likely to be an exception. As the year enters its final quarter, there are some indications of brightening skies on the horizon for the manufacturer, as far as Bronco production is concerned. The problematic MIC hardtop chapter will no doubt leave some lingering memories, but they’ll fade — probably in direct proportion to the number of new Broncos that at long last reach their intended destinations.

As we already pointed out, Ford will also have to prove to the auto-buying public that it’s serious about riding herd on its dealership network. The manufacturer has already outlined a plan that’s focused on making sure those dealers that had attempted to leverage the Bronco’s popularity, while putting incremental profit ahead of ethics, are kept in check — although it’s a little difficult to predict the extent of the longer-term PR damage done by the offending dealerships.

Hard as it is to believe, Ford’s 2022 model year will get underway in just a little over two months (the company currently estimates this to happen in late December) and with the hope for more normalcy in 2022 come a few other changes.

A Change of Colors

On the color chart front, prospective buyers will see the addition of two new colors: Hot Pepper Red and Eruption Green. Both shades promise to be popular selections, as the former is an absolute high voltage attention-getter that seems to nearly pulsate when exposed to the sun, while the latter is a modern-day, metallic-infused take on the Mallard Green shade that once draped many first-generation Broncos.

To make way for the two new colors, Ford will be deleting three others that had been offered on Broncos up to this point, which can’t help but cause some discontent. In particular, the deletion of Anti-Matter Blue seems especially surprising, as it just looked like it BELONGED on the Bronco. Interestingly, Ford insists that it made the decision based on quantitative research — the outgoing colors apparently just didn’t prove sufficiently popular in the Bronco’s 2021 model year.

Other shades that will soon be out of the mix include Lightning Blue Metallic and Rapid Red Metallic Tinted Clearcoat. The former color’s departure really doesn’t qualify as an actual deletion, as it was intended all along to be a “one and done” offering for the 2021 Bronco First Edition.

Holding the Line on Pricing for Orders Already In

On another note, in what might be Ford’s most effective goodwill gesture yet in efforts to soothe hard feelings over Bronco-related delays, the company will be providing 2022 price protection for the model. In other words, they’ll be honoring 2021 model year pricing for comparably equipped Broncos whose arrival will end up being delayed for so long that production will have shifted to the 2022 model year. On one hand, you can definitely argue that, because so many 2021 Bronco orders still remain to be filled, Ford really has no other choice, but with looming inflation and higher prices already announced for the coming model year, this is definitely a meaningful overture.

The Bronco First Edition will be an obvious exception. True to the name, First Editions were the first to roll off the assembly line and were always intended to be in limited supply — although their production cap was increased due to outsized demand — so all orders for the 2021 Bronco First Edition will have been filled by the end of the current model year.

A couple of additional upcoming 2022 offerings pertain to the Bronco Sasquatch edition, which will soon be available with a manual transmission, as well as a new roof rack designed for the variant’s 4-door configuration.