Ford’s (F) Bronco, the rugged SUV relaunched in 2021, is more than just an off-road-oriented truck to its fans and customers. It’s a lifestyle, whether in parking lots or on unpaved terrain. But the Bronco is also a product that’s generating big business.

And nowhere is the lifestyle element more seen than at Bronco Off-Roadeo.

Think of the Off-Roadeo as a one-day celebration of all things Bronco, where owners — and only owners — get together at a Ford-created activity site to meet each other, trade stories, and, of course, take Broncos out on custom trails designed to test the SUV’s mettle on everything from dirt roads, muddy ruts with deep pools of water, and even some light rock crawling in Austin’s Hill Country.

Ford operates the experience in Austin, Texas, which Yahoo Finance attended, as well as in Moab, Utah; Mt. Potosi, Nev.; Gilford, N.H.; and Maryville, Tenn. Off-Roadeos are generally held year-round, and owners often go multiple times. It’s an excuse to have some fun too, but without damaging your ride, as Ford supplies the vehicles.

“I love mine too much to risk nicks, scratches, bumps, and bruises, but coming to use somebody else’s, that was a no-brainer, right?” said Ken Scrogin, who came down from St. Louis, Mo., with his wife — who also owns a Bronco — and their kids.

Scrogin is part of a massively growing club of Bronco owners. Ford reported full-size Bronco sales (versus the smaller Bronco Sport) jumped a whopping 33.7% in 2025 compared to a year ago, after climbing a modest 3.3% in 2024.

In fact, Ford said it topped Jeep Wrangler in sales this April, a huge coup for the brand, as Jeep has owned this space for years, especially after Ford canceled the Bronco in 1996. Edmunds.com confirmed that the Bronco outsold the Wrangler in April, with 17,073 and 14,966 units sold, respectively.

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“The Bronco buyer is a mix of classic Jeep Wrangler conquest and a meaningful share coming from elsewhere entirely—customers cross‑shopping vehicles like the Toyota 4Runner or coming back into the segment after sitting it out while Wrangler was the only option,” a Ford spokesperson said.

The timing for the comeback may have been perfect.

“The company revived an iconic nameplate and turned it into a high-margin lifestyle vehicle just as Americans were gravitating toward rugged SUVs and off-road trims,” Jessical Caldwell, head of insights at Edmunds, told Yahoo Finance. The Bronco’s release at the height of the pandemic came at a time when cars were in short supply, which boosted demand, and as owners sought vehicles for outdoor activities.

The rise of the Bronco comes at a crucial moment for Ford. The company hemorrhaged cash on a big bet on EVs — one that, unfortunately for Ford, was not well-timed.

With most legacy automakers, including Ford, operating with mid- to single-digit operating margins, vehicles like the Bronco and other SUVs command margins more than double that, usually in the 10%-20% range, giving automakers a huge boost to the bottom line. Higher-optioned trims like the Bronco Badlands and ultra-off-road-focused Raptor pull in much more in pure profit.

“Tapping into a segment dominated by the Jeep Wrangler for decades was always going to be tough, but it was going to be profitable,” AutoForecast Solutions manufacturing expert Sam Fiorani said. “The Bronco offers several popular trim levels up to the $80,000 Raptor, with buyers demanding the higher levels that are very profitable to Ford. By sharing many components with other models, the Ford keeps the costs down on the model and demand that remains strong props up the pricing for new and used Broncos, making it among the most profitable vehicles from a mainstream brand.”

Ford CEO Jim Farley has said on several occasions that he wants the company to be known as the “Porsche of off-road,” not just for being the standard-bearer for a certain class of vehicles, but also to command the juicy profit margins that enthusiast brands such as Porsche enjoy.

It’s why Farley and motorsport head Mark Rushbrook have Ford off-road vehicles competing in the most extreme races, like the Dakar Rally, the Baja 1000, and even the “toughest off-road race on earth,” King of the Hammers, in Johnson Valley, Calif.

The off-road accolades bring the Bronco brand more credibility, in addition to learnings that inform product improvements.

Bronco owners also attend Off-Roadeo for technical purposes, as learning about how to use the Bronco is part of the event’s appeal.

“I really want to learn how to use this car well, and so that’s why we signed up for this,” said Kylie Schaberg, who attended with her fiancé. “I didn’t realize it was going to be so hands-on, and so independent but supportive. So yeah, it was really good.”

Fellow attendee Benjamin Myers of League City, Texas, said his dad had older-generation Broncos when he was a kid. Myers decided he wanted a piece of that heritage over a Jeep Wrangler.

“When I saw the new [Broncos] come out, I was like, you know what, I want to start camping. I want to start four-wheel driving. I want to start doing more outdoorsy things. So that’s why I chose the Bronco,” Myers said.

Myers also noted that the Bronco and its fans have a big presence on TikTok, the social video site that often surfaces trends first before spreading to other social media platforms.

Stacey Scrogins, attending with her fellow Bronco owner and husband, Ken, said the online community of Bronco owners has strengthened her connection to the vehicle.

“On social media, I was searching ‘Bronco,’ and there’s Bronco Nation, there’s a women’s Bronco group, there’s the sixth-generation Bronco group,” she said. “There’s a really good community. You learn about different Off-Roadeos, different accessories, things you can do with it. So it’s fantastic.”

Though the Bronco buyer still skews male with a 70/30 split, Ford said it’s seeing real growth with female buyers, especially as an “outdoor lifestyle vehicle.”

But Ford’s focus on large SUVs and trucks raises questions about affordability and accessibility, as the vehicles tend to be more expensive than traditional sedans and regular crossovers.

This is even more acute in light of higher gas prices that have persisted longer than most expect and the persistence of high interest rates, leading to financing that results in extreme 84-month loans, for example.

“Many of these vehicles are priced well beyond what low- and middle-income Americans can realistically afford, especially during a period of high gas prices, elevated interest rates, and persistent inflation,” said Edmunds’ Caldwell. “That means Ford is increasingly concentrating on wealthier buyers while offering fewer compelling options for cost-conscious consumers.”

But even with persistently high gas and retail prices, Bronco may be able to buck those trends.

“American buyers expect large vehicles with powerful engines and will absorb the cost of gasoline,” AutoForecast Solutions’ Fiorani said. “Every time an economist chooses a gas price level where buyers will change their buying habits, the market proves their theories to be far more elastic than expected. It was $2, then $4, and now $5, but in the long run, buyers will return to their trucks.”

Case in point: When polled, all the attendees at the Off-Roadeo said their next vehicle would be an obvious choice.

“Absolutely, absolutely,” Benjamin Myers said when asked if another Bronco was next in his future.

Pras Subramanian is Lead Auto Reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on X and on Instagram.

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