The Ford Bronco Sport Is Giving Jeep Serious Headaches

If it's possible, theFord Bronco Sporthas flown somewhat under the radar because of its much-hyped, more rugged sibling, the Bronco. Make no mistake, though, the Bronco Sport has been a big sales success in its own right; in September, the Bronco Sportoutsold the Ford Escapefor the first time. In October, the Bronco Sport has achieved another impressive feat; with 9,201 units sold, the SUV outsold both theJeep Cherokeeand Compass combined. The Bronco Sport helped Ford achieve itsbest SUVretail sales for the month of October in 21 years. The Bronco and Mustang Mach-E also performed well.

In June, Ford said that the Bronco Sport was clearlystealing sales from Jeep; at the time, it said that 63 percent of Bronco Sport customers were coming from outside the Ford brand. Further complicating matters for Jeep recently is that production at the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinoiscame to an abrupt haltin October due to the semiconductor chip crisis. This plant is where the Cherokee is manufactured. Besides production issues, the Cherokee is in need of an update. It remains a good off-roader but is let down by a needlessly bloated range of trims, a poor gearbox, and compromised cargo space. Then again, the current Cherokee was introduced at the end of 2013 so perhaps these shortcomings are not surprising.