Analyst: Ford Bronco supply chain problem points to removable tops

A lot happened within eight hours.

Just after 8 a.m. Friday, a top executive at Ford Motor Co. did a presentation at the Goldman Sachs Global Automotive Conference for  analysts who play a key role in shaping Wall Street opinion of stock value. 

“The Bronco is on track to launch in the spring,” said Hau Thai-Tang, Ford chief product platform and operations officer, who has long overseen product design, engineering and development, as well as purchasing operations.

But by the end of Friday, after the close of the stock market, Ford revealed plans to delay customer deliveries due to supply chain disruption caused by COVID-19. And the stock price took a slight dip.

The company declined to name what in the supply chain broke down, confidentiality that is not unusual for manufacturers. They guard their relationships carefully. 

The front of a Ford Bronco 4-door is seen in Holly on July 10, 2020.

While Ford dealers and Bronco customers seemed to shrug-off the news as another 2020 disappointment, the situation carries with it a different level of anxiety for an industry shuttered for eight weeks last spring that cost companies billions.

Factories in North America, Europe and Asia all closed as COVID-19 surged in March. 

Now this. 

“We shared the update on the Bronco two- and four-door customer deliveries being retimed to summer due to a COVID-related supplier issue as soon as it was finalized,” Mark Truby, chief communications officer, told the Free Press. “Production on these models begins in the spring, and we expect to start customer deliveries in the summer.”

Thai-Tang was monitoring the situation in the days leading up to the Goldman Sachs presentation and in the hours afterward.

“The issue was pretty fluid until we finalized it on Friday,” Truby said.

The Free Press has learned that the hiccup involves the removable tops being made for the vehicles, which are assembled at the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne.

Joe McCabe, CEO of AutoForecast Solutions based in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, said the industry is monitoring closely the overall potential impact of the pandemic as well as the short-term impact on Ford with this high-profile product.

2021 Ford Bronco Sport Badlands

His network of supplier contacts pointed to tops made outside the U.S. as the Bronco culprit. And figuring a leak could happen, Ford decided to manage expectations.

“Late March is the true start of production of the Bronco as of right now,” McCabe said. “To date, they’ve built a handful since September for testing and marketing.”

He explained, “What’s holding up delivery is the tops. There are multiple facilities globally where they’re sourced. So, Ford was playing with the idea of delivering the Bronco without a top to the dealer. From the Ford perspective, the entire Bronco can be built without a top. You don’t necessarily have to change the production schedule.”

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Joe McCabe, CEO of AutoForecast Solutions, says 2021 Ford Bronco customer delivery delay points to the manufacturing of tops. He is pictured here in October 2019.

Bronco tops — hard or soft — are removable, McCabe said. “They can build the vehicles on schedule. And if the supplier miraculously finds a way to bring tops up to speed, they don’t have to change the production schedule at all.”

In theory, dealers could let the vehicles sit until tops arrived. No one has to stop building anything or disrupt the schedule, McCabe said. “It’s not like missing the steering wheel or the instrument panel, which leaves you sort of screwed.”

A second source close to the company confirmed tops are the issue and indicated the problem may be linked to the coronavirus in China. The source requested anonymity because there was no authorization to release the information. 

In February 2019, a labor strike in Mexico led to steering wheel shortages for Mustang and Explorer. Companies source parts in the U.S. when possible but the industry has consolidated supplies worldwide to save costs for manufacturers and consumers as well as to increase efficiency.