PSA Bronto (russian: ПСА Бронто) was a Russian company focused on the production of special vehicles and SUVs. It was established in 1993 and closed in 2015. While in operation, it was closely associated with

AvtoVAZ AvtoVAZ ( rus, АвтоВАЗ, p=ɐftoˈvas) is a Russian automobile manufacturing company owned by the state. It was formerly named as VAZ ( rus, ВАЗ), an acronym for Volga Automotive Plant in Russian (russian: Во́лжский автомо� ...

. The Bronto badging is still used.

History

In 1993, the car company PSA Bronto was established as part of the AvtoVAZ research center for the production of special armored vehicles and SUVs on the platform of the

Lada Niva The Lada Niva Legend, formerly called the Lada Niva, VAZ-2121, VAZ-2131, and Lada 4×4 (russian: link=no, ВАЗ-2121, ВАЗ-2131, Лада Нива), is a series of four-wheel drive, small (hatchback), and compact (wagon and pickup) off-road c ...

. The following year, more than 200 copies of this model were sold, which allowed the company to begin work on new projects.History of the Bronto brand
/carobka.ru Lada Bronto Marsh-1 (1922-00) was one of the few mass-produced vehicles on massive balloon tires. Developing the model of AvtoVAZ's leading engineer, Pyotr Prusov, the company created the all-terrain vehicle Marsh-1, a

swamp buggy A swamp buggy, also known as a marsh buggy, is a motor vehicle used to traverse boggy swamp terrain. Swamp buggies may be purpose-built buggies or vehicles modified to traverse swamp terrain. Swamp buggies are capable of traveling through or over ...

vehicle, which became a real sensation at the auto show held in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

in 1995. This car is designed to work in specific conditions that are associated with overcoming marshy swamps, deep snows, sand dunes. Its first copies went to

Surgut Surgut ( rus, Сургу́т, p=sʊrˈgut; Khanty: Сәрханӆ, ''Sərhanł'') is a city in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located on the Ob River near its junction with the Irtysh River. It is one of the few cities in Russia to be l ...

and

Nadym Nadym (russian: Нады́м, Selkup: Ня́рэм, Nấrém) is a town in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located on the river Nadym. The population has fluctuated: Etymology There are three several translations from the Nenets lan ...

. In 2002, more than 30 SUVs 192200 "March" were purchased by the government of

Yakutia Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia),, is the largest republic of Russia, located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of roughly 1 million. Sakha comprises half of the area of its governing Far ...

. In 1996, the cooperation of PSA Bronto with

Sberbank of Russia PJSC Sberbank (russian: Сбербанк, initially a contraction of russian: сберегательный банк, translit=sberegatelnyy bank, lit=savings bank, link=no) is a Russian majority state-owned banking and financial services compan ...

began, for which the company manufactured 500 cash armored vehicles. Having continued in new modifications in 2002 on the Nadezhda platform "Bronto-212090" and on the Lada Niva platform "Bronto-213102". In 2004, the Bronto-194900 model was released on the

Chevrolet Niva The Lada Niva Travel is a compact crossover utility vehicle (CUV) produced since 1998 by the AvtoVAZ Group. Originally called the VAZ-2123 (1998–2002), the SUV was marketed as the Chevrolet Niva from 2003 to 2020, when AvtoVAZ (the parent com ...

platform for collection. In 2002, on the platform of the

Lada Nadezhda The Lada Nadezhda or VAZ-2120 "Nadezhda" ("Hope", also a Slavic female name) is a seven-person four-wheel-drive minivan, produced by the Russian automaker AvtoVAZ in 1998-2006. The VAZ-2120 was the first minivan produced by the Russian auto ...

and Lada Niva, a modification of the Marsh-2 all-terrain vehicle was created. Its interior allowed eight passengers to comfortably accommodate: two people were placed in the front seats, and six - in the rear. At the same time, the rear seats were quickly transformed into sleeping ones, which made it possible to transport patients and victims. The car was equipped with two fuel tanks of 70 liters each, and its design made it possible to install VAZ gasoline and diesel power units on a car. The first customers of the new modification were JSC Centrenergo RAO UES of Russia. In 2005, PSA Bronto launched the "Landole" open car based on the Niva, designed by Sergey Samoilov. The company also developed an

electric car An electric car, battery electric car, or all-electric car is an automobile that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using only energy stored in batteries. Compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric cars are quiet ...

prototype, "Brontokar". In 2009, PSA Bronto introduced a new SUV in camouflaged army paint, on the Niva Lynx platform, which was continued in the Niva-Lynx1, Niva-Lynx2 and Niva-Lynx3 series. The latest Lynx-3 series is also known as the Niva Bronto 213102-771-40 Force Comdiv. In 2012, VIS-AUTO absorbed PSA Bronto.Four wheels: AvtoVAZ heritage
/ref> The PSA Bronto company was officially dissolved on 1 January 2015.

Continiuing usage of the Bronto badging

In 2021, AvtoVAZ announced a new Bronto-badged vehicle as a top trim for the

Lada Niva Legend The Lada Niva Legend, formerly called the Lada Niva, VAZ-2121, VAZ-2131, and Lada 4×4 (russian: link=no, ВАЗ-2121, ВАЗ-2131, Лада Нива), is a series of four-wheel drive, small (hatchback), and compact (wagon and pickup) off-road c ...

. VIS-AUTO and AvtoVAZ partnered on production, with the former taking charge of main assembly and the latter of welding and painting.

References

External links

PSA Bronto official site
{{Automotive industry in Russia Car brands Truck manufacturers of Russia Off-road vehicles All-wheel-drive vehicles Mini sport utility vehicles Vehicles introduced in 1977 Companies based in Samara Oblast AvtoVAZ Car manufacturers of Russia ar:برونتو (سيارة)