Update: Entire story updated by Sagar Parikh & Shrawan Raja based on new developments
Former Ford President and CEO Jim Hackett confirmed that the Blue Oval would make a Ford Bronco Hybrid during the company’s annual shareholder meeting in 2019.
Here’s everything that has been reported on the Ford Bronco Hybrid, and our general expectations for the electrification of the nameplate.
Confirmation
Ford is working on fitting a hybrid powertrain on every Ford Blue product, which the Bronco and Bronco Sport are part of, by 2030, in North America.
These continued improvements will help us reach our aspiration of offering hybrid powertrains across the entire Ford Blue lineup in North America by the end of the decade.
An excerpt from Ford’s 2025 Integrated Sustainability and Financial Report that outlines innovations in Ford’s hybrid powertrains
On February 10, 2026, during Ford’s Q4 2025 earnings conference call, President and CEO Jim Farley suggested that the company’s electrification efforts in the future will extend beyond EVs, including EREVs and hybrids:
In addition to that, we’re betting on hybrid across our lineup and EREV where it makes sense for our duty cycle, like large trucks where towing is a real important application and both FHEV and pure-electric will definitely not work.
Jim Farley, President and CEO, Ford (Q4 2025 earnings conference call on February 10, 2026)
On the Electrified Bronco
“Exciting powertrains” coming to Bronco
In a conversation with Autocar at the 2026 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Farley said that customers “should expect a lot of exciting powertrains for Bronco.”
EREV
Farley did not get into the specifics but he ruled out bringing the Chinese Bronco New Energy, which Ford manufactures with its local partner Jiangling Motors in extended-range electric and pure-electric variants, to the U.S. market.
Extended Range Electric Vehicles (EREVs) combine the technologies of series-hybrid and plug-in hybrid models. They have an engine and an electric motor, but only use the latter for propulsion.
We think Ford will introduce a Bronco extended-range electric powertrain that provides an EV-like driving experience, but with significantly better range and towing capacity.
The potential Bronco EREV could have the capability of covering a distance of well over 700 miles. That would be a major improvement over the gas-powered Bronco’s EPA-est. range of up to 416 miles (MY2025).
Our hybrid lineup is already strong, we’re number three in our home market and hybrid sales now are 10-15% of our global sales every month now. And we will expand our hybrid also. We’re now looking at new versions of hybrids called EREVs, which will be even more exciting, give customers more choice in their duty cycle.
Jim Farley, Ford’s CEO, replying to a question on electrification at Ford’s 70th Annual Meeting of Shareholders on May 8, 2025
“Ford will be developing flexible body-on-frame and unit body platforms that will be designed for these multi-energy powertrains that are needed given the realities of customer affordability and range requirements,” he confirmed during the Q4 2024 earnings call on February 5, 2025.
On the Electrified Bronco Sport
Hybrid
As for the electrified Bronco Sport, we expect Ford to offer the optional hybrid powertrain of the Escape. The company recently ceased production of the Escape in the U.S., which means the Bronco has an even bigger role to play in the compact SUV segment.
The Escape’s hybrid powertrain makes sense for the Bronco, since it is a relatively ‘softer’ model, sits on the same monocoque platform, and doesn’t have the space, budget, or the requirement for a big battery of an EREV.
Ford offers the regular Escape Hybrid in FWD and AWD, both with a combined power of 192 hp. A Ford Escape Plug-in Hybrid with a 2.5-liter iVCT Atkinson cycle gas engine and eCVT is also available, but only in FWD. The total system power in the plug-in hybrid variant of the Escape is 210 hp.
The Bronco Sport with the 2.0-liter engine has an EPA rating of 24 mpg combined, while the Escape Hybrid is EPA-estimated at approximately 39 mpg combined for both FWD and AWD.
Electric
A Ford Bronco Sport EV could also be in the pipeline, the company’s recent strategy announcements have hinted. In August 2025, Ford announced the modular Universal EV (UEV) Platform that can underpin a range of vehicles across body styles.
Ford announced that a midsize pickup truck will debut the UEV in 2027 and hinted at a number of other models based on the same for later release via teasers, including two SUVs, one of which could be the Bronco Sport EV.
On October 23, 2025, during Ford’s Q3 2025 earnings conference call, Farley stated that the company wanted to develop the platform that costs the least to develop and allows it to build multiple hats in one facility. The Blue Oval aims to become really competitive in the affordable EV segment with the UEV platform.
L3 autonomous driving
The electric Bronco Sport could also become the first Bronco series model in the U.S. to possess Level 3 autonomous driving capability. While most automakers roll out new hands-free driving technologies with a top-down approach, Ford is planning the opposite.
On February 10, 2026, during Ford’s Q4 2025 earnings conference call, Farley confirmed the introduction of L3 capability with Universal EV Platform-based models, particularly the low-end EVs priced in the USD 30,000-35,000 range. The company has said that it will be launched in 2028.
We’re launching L3 with the UEV. Many of our competitors are launching level three with their luxury brands. We’re going to be doing it with our $30,000 to $35,000 vehicles.
Jim Farley, President and CEO, Ford (Q4 2025 earnings conference call on February 10, 2026)
Release Date
While we’ll keep an eye on further comments by Ford officials, the Bronco EV and EREV models may arrive on the market around 2028.
Speaking to The Drive recently, Bronco engineer and development driver Seth Goslawski revealed that Ford has no plans to redesign the Bronco Sport in the current generation. The company will continue rolling out periodic incremental updates, one of which could bring an extended-range electric powertrain.
It is expected to be followed closely by a completely different-looking, more feature-rich Ford Bronco Sport EV later the same year.
TopElectricSUV says
There’s one area where the new Bronco models need to improve seriously: efficiency. Introducing a hybrid option will address that concern, making them more appealing to a wider audience. For a small premium, these hybrid models could offer big gains in fuel cost savings in the long run.
A Mechanical Engineer by qualification, I started out as an automotive editor of a regional magazine in 2011. In my 11 years of experience in creating automotive content, I’ve traveled around the world to review, analyze and report on the world’s top electrified cars.
