After nearly 25 years, the iconic Ford Bronco is getting revamped and making a comeback with two new additions to the series' family, Dave Pericak, global director of icons at Ford, told Cheddar.
"If you look at SUVs, they're more popular now than they've ever been. In 2019, SUVs had their most sales ever. So, now is the time," he said.
The iconic off-roader's sport model is set to hit the sales floor in the U.S. later this year, according to Pericak, with the two-door and first-ever four-door versions to hit the market next year. Even as the fully gas-powered SUVs draw anticipation, they're not currently part of Ford's push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Pericak said the company will be spending more than $11.5 billion in electrification over the next several years, but noted the initial focus will be on the F-150, Mustang, and Transit.
The coronavirus pandemic has hit U.S. automakers, including Ford, where deliveries reportedly dropped by a third year-over-year in Q2. Still, Pericak is optimistic that an uptick is coming as economies reopen.
"I hope that we're going to be coming out of this coronavirus pretty soon. I think we're going to be hitting it at the right time when people have a lot of the pent up demand," he said.
Ford is set to debut the new line of vehicles on July 13.
The continued resilience of the U.S. economy could require further interest rate increases, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Friday in a closely watched speech that also highlighted the uncertain nature of the economic outlook.
As the Federal Reserve prepares to hold its annual economic conference in Jackson Hole on Friday and Saturday, its policymakers are trying to guide the U.S. economy toward something akin to what's happening in Jackson Hole.
Anyone in the U.S. who had an account at any time between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022, is eligible to receive a payment. The 2022 settlement resolves a lawsuit alleging that Facebook allowed millions of its users’ personal information to be fed to Cambridge Analytica, a firm that supported Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.