Renault is readying a rugged, boxy, city-focused crossover that will be previewed by the Bridger concept next week.
To be unveiled at the Renault Group’s future-looking strategy day on 10 March, the Bridger will sport a utilitarian design that features a rear-mounted spare wheel.
The concept will be spacious yet shorter than 4m in length, suggesting it could be positioned in a similar way to the discontinued Suzuki Jimny. For context, the Renault 4 is 4.1m long and the Dacia Duster is 4.3m long.
The subsequent production car will be designed and developed in India and therefore likely built at Renault’s factory in Chennai.
Earlier this year, Renault announced a £2.2 billion plan to dramatically grow its market share outside of Europe. As such, it’s expected that this car will be sold only in India, Africa and the Middle East.
Given the small EV uptake in those markets, it’s expected to be sold exclusively with combustion power – likely the same mild- and full-hybrid powertrain as used by the new Indian-built Renault Duster.
While not confirmed, the new car looks set to take the Bridger concept’s name into production. Sylvia dos Santos, Renault’s head of naming strategy, explained: “With Renault Bridger, we are adding to our family of names based on English words. The name is part of the same approach as the name of Renault Duster. It’s a powerful, robust and versatile name and opens a new page in our international offensive.”
This is just the latest Renault concept previewing a model aimed outside of its core European markets. Previous examples included the radical Niagara, which previews an off-road pick-up truck that should come to market in 2027.
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