Bronco Sport

Make
Ford
Segment
SUV

The Ford Bronco Sport continues to be a huge sales success. Demand is so high that dealerships have been forced to sell demo models while others have resorted to markups by as much as $10,000. The all-wheel drive-only SUV has even managed to lure some Bronco SUV buyers who grew tired of waiting for deliveries to begin. Before it enters its second model year, the highly capable and off-road-ready Bronco Sport is getting one last unpleasant surprise: a price increase.

A letter sent to dealers confirms the SUV is getting up to a $540 price increase starting June 1. The base model will see a $395 increase from its current $28,315 price tag.

The Big Bend will cost $400 more than before but the $540 increase is reserved only for the two most expensive trims, Outer Banks and Badlands. If you're wondering why these price changes are happening now, it's simply a matter of high demand. Officially, Ford says this is a "competitive pricing action" and doesn't appear to have anything to do with the semiconductor chip shortage.

But the Bronco Sport isn't the only Ford model whose price is going up. Its platform-sharing cousin, the Escape, will see up to a $670 increase. Meanwhile, nationwide Bronco Sport supply appears to remain robust, though this could vary in certain regions.

Along with the price boost, Ford is expected to reduce incentives beginning in June as well. The offer of $500 bonus cash combined with 0 percent APR for up to 48 months may no longer exist, at least for June.

So far this year, Ford has sold 37,212 Bronco Sports with April being the best month with 13,856 units. May's tally is expected shortly and there's a very good chance it'll be even higher. The lowest month so far was last November when just 22 examples left dealership lots; understandable given the SUV had just gone on sale. One month later, sales had climbed to nearly 6,000 followed by 8,000 in January.