Dacia News

The French Automobile Magazine revealed today some details about the new models that will be launched by Dacia in 2012. As we know from some time the main novelties of the range of the Romanian car manufacturer will be represented by a MPV and a utility van. The French journalists have found, however, more and interesting details about these models.

The Dacia MPV model – known today as the J92 – could be called Popster in the series version. The Dacia Popster will enter in the MPV segment and will try to take from the European customers of the Opel Zafira, Ford C-Max, Citroen C4 Picasso or the Renault Scenic. The new model will offer seven-seat for passengers, it will have a third side square window and hinged rear doors. The length of the future Dacia MPV will be about 4.5 meters, and will have a price of 14.800 euros, with 6000 euros less than the Renault Scenic.

The Dacia utility van has the code name K67 and is based on the Renault Kangoo. Dacia will thus have three distinct models mainly for passenger transport (the current MCV, the J92 MPV and the K67 van), and two derived utility models (Logan Van and an the future utility van based on the future K67). The new K67 will have sliding side doors, and the tailgate will be transformed into two doors like those on the current MCV. According to French journalists, the basic price of this model in the Hexagon, will start from 13.000 euros with a petrol engine and from 14.500 euros with a diesel engine. The price of the Dacia K67 will be with 4,000 euros less than the Kangoo, even if the space inside will be higher, which means that the new K67 will have a base price similar to the Dacia Duster.

Source: Automobile Magazine

Renault relays on the help of Dacia when it comes to win big emerging markets like Russia and Brazil. To meet the global demand, Dacia will also need the help of the Moroccan factory in Tangier, which should ensure a good part of the Romanian car manufacturer production.

According to a French official, the Moroccan factory will be able to produce a total of 350,000 cars a year in the next period. The large number of units will be justified by the introduction of two new Dacia models in 2012.

Sources within the French manufacturer said that the Dacia range will be enriched with a small family model and a commercial vehicle. The future Dacia commercial model will be slightly higher than the current Renault Kangoo. Both models will be built on the current Logan platform, and they will be produced at the Tangier factory in Morocco.

Detourbet Gerard, the vice president of the entry-level programs at Renault, said that the two factories, in Pitesti and in Tangier, will have a production capacity between 350,000 and 360,000 units. "Given that the Mioveni factory is working at full capacity, we wondered if we should expand in Romania or we must seek other factories. So we have chosen the Tangier factory" said Detourbet.

Renault has released this week an investment program for several points of production, 3/5 of a total of 5.7 billion euros that will go towards extending more factories outside Europe until 2013.

Stephen Norman, the Renault Group marketing director, said in an interview for the French journalists from Caradisiac that the next Dacia model will be launched next spring, and it will be "an exceptional one". According to the Renault official, the main feature of the new model – most likely a minivan – is that its forms are impossible to imagine.

"The next Dacia model will be an exceptional one by the fact that you can not even imagine the shape. It will be launched at the Geneva Motor Show in 2012. Then you will see a widening of the range. What we prepare, aside from marketing campaigns, is a slightly larger range of models because more customers understand the benefits of this brand" said Norman.

Asked about the potential "cannibalism" that might affect the ranges of Renault and Dacia (Clio-Sandero and Duster-Koleos), Stephen Norman ruled out such an idea, arguing that both Dacia and Renault brands increased their market share in 2010 in common markets.

"Dacia exploded, Renault has progressed. There is not a region in the world on which Renault did not progress in 2010. In addition, the collaboration between Dacia and Renault is studied by all companies in the world as a successful model" concludes Norman.

The fifth member of the Dacia family will be launched in June 2012 and will have two versions: a petrol engine of 1,2 liters and 100 HP and a diesel engine of 1,5 liters with 90 and 105 HP according to the French newspaper L’argus.

The vehicle will have a length of about 4.5 meters, a format comparable to the Renault Grand Scenic. According to the same source, the new Dacia model will have the rear seat folding, which will increase the luggage capacity up to 2,300 liters. The new Dacia minivan will have also a version with three rows of seats, and will transport easily seven adults.

The new model will be produced and assembled in Morocco, because the Pitesti factory is working at full capacity for the production of Duster.

The Dacia MPV will be the fith member of the Dacia family after Logan, Sandero, Logan MCV and the SUV Duster.

According to the French from L’argus, the Dacia MPV will have a starting price of 13,000 euros on the petrol version to 15,000 euros for the diesel version.

Source: L’Argus

Dacia officials have announced in a press conference the results of the brand in 2010. The Romanian car manufacturer sold 348,723 units in 2010, marking an increase of 12% compared to 2009. The market share of Dacia in Romania was 31.7%, with 2.8 percentage points more than in 2009. Also in Romania, the Duster surpassed Sandero in sales, but failed to overcome Logan, who has much lower prices.

Dacia was able to obtain a growth rate of over 10% for the sixth consecutive year, a performance that has doubled the volume of international sales in the 2005-2010 period. The fleets began to turn again to Dacia in 2010, marking a record level of sales to fleets – almost 4,000 units. The large companies were the customers who bought hundred of Dacia units and the models who were preferred were Sandero 1.2 with 16v or Logan. Duster was purchased by several companies, but in numbers so large that the other small models.

The year 2010 was marked positive by the release of Duster. The SUV has become the leader in its segment in Romania, although it started in mid-year. In Romania, Duster sold 4826 units, while the international market has scored more than 100,000 orders (not all been delivered yet) until 31 December 2010. Over 90% of customers opted for the top version of Duster.

Top 10 export destinations in 2010

Dacia has managed an excellent year in France: the Romanian car manufacturer managed to sell over 100,000 units in the last 12 months in Hexagon. Obviously, it is a premiere for Dacia, a brand that until two years ago didn’t have success on the major markets of Europe.

The sales volume made the Dacia brand to reach a market share of 4.6%. The increase over the previous year was by 70.9%, the 104,642 cars sold in France by the Pitesti car manufacturer during the January-December 2010 representing a result much higher than in 2009 when only 61,217 cars were sold in France.

It is very interesting that the number of cars sold by Dacia in France exceeds the number of all cars sold in Romania in 2010. Thus, while Dacia has sold 100,000 cars only in France, in Romania were registered 100,000 cars in 2010.

The Americans from Envision Motor Company have managed to launch an electric model of the Logan in the United States. The Iowa-based company produces 100% electric cars based on the Dacia Logan. The three models are Electric Wagon (Logan MCV), Electric Cargo Van (Logan Van) and Electric truck (Logan Pick-up).

All the models have a range of 321 kilometers and a maximum speed of 120 km/h, 3 year or 58,000 km warranty, and the Sodium Nickel Chloride battery has a 112,000 km warranty.
The Electric Wagon (Logan MCV) costs 37,300 $, is available in nine colors, has ABS and airbags for the driver and the front passenger as standard. 
The Electric Cargo Van (Logan Van) costs 32,300 $ and is available in six colors and the Electric truck (Logan Pick-up) costs 33,300 dollars and is available in five colors.
All the vehicles sold by EMC are approved in the United States and Europe.

The Romanian car manufacturer, Dacia, is in the uptrend, and this is confirmed by the number of cars produced in 2010. Constantin Stroe, the Dacia vice-president is expecting by the end of this year,a production of 450.000 cars: 330.000 cars assembled and complete assembly kits equivalent to 120.000 cars. Moreover, the Romanian official believes that the production will increase to 550.000 cars in 2015.

In 2009, Dacia was able to produce 311.000 cars, and in 2008, the number of vehicles manufactured in Pitesti was 254.919. The vice president of Dacia also said the the Romanian car manufacturer will register in 2010 the best performance in terms exported cars. Since the beginning of the year to October, Dacia has managed to sell 238.273 vehicles abroad, an amount approximately equal to the number of cars exported in 2009 (242.688).

"The maximum production capacity of Dacia factory in Pitesti is 350.000 assembled cars, which will be achieved in the future. In addition Dacia is producing collections of CKD (Complete Knock Down), which are assembled in India and Russia. In 2015 we will have a production of about 200.000 cars in equivalent of CKD " said Constantin Stroe.

The next models which will be launched by Dacia in Europe will be a van, an MPV  and a small model for the city. The information was published today by the French daily Le Figaro who analyzed the growth and origins of Dacia in an article titled "Dacia the gold bullion of Renault".

"These new models will inaugurate a new stage in terms of design, and their prices will be lowered than ever" said Alain Launay, the director of the Renault design center opened in Bucharest two years ago. The three models will be launched from 2012 in the European Union.

Regarding the situation between the image of the Dacia brand to the Renault brand, the technical center officials in Romania give us new details about development in the future. Thus, according to Gerard Detourbet statements, Dacia will remain a manufacturer that will provide basic models, while the models developed by Renault will be increasingly sophisticated.

Another issue touched by the French journalists is the reliability of Dacia models that are situated in the first positions in the charts in Europe. "Most cars today have defects in the home electronic systems complexity. The Dacia models use electronic systems that were developed based on five to ten years ago, so they are obviously much more reliable than the last generation of cars" said Benoit Abadie, the deputy director of the Technology Center that opened this year Renault in Romania.
"The costs of production for Dacia model assembled in Pitesti is below 2,000 euros the same model manufactured in France" – Le Figaro.

The European Union regulations, which require that all car manufacturer will sell from 1 January 2011 only models that meet the Euro 5 regulations, it obliges the Dacia to adopt a series of important changes within the range.

The Romanian manufacturer will be forced to give up to one of the best-selling versions of the Logan: the entry-level 1.4-liter MPI, which had 75 HP. The petrol unit will be replaced with another well known engine of Dacia, the 1.2-liter with 16-valve unit and the same power, 75HP. The 1.6 liter MPI engine will also be modified. Dacia was forced to reduce the power from 90 to 85 HP, in order to meet the Euro 5 pollution standards.

There will be changes in the 1.5-liter dCi diesel versions, but they will be more than favorable. Thus, the basic engine performance increases from 70 to 75 HP, while the higher version goes from 85 to 90 HP.

With the 1.4-liter unit away from the Logan range, the sedan produced at Mioveni will be sold in Romania with a starting price of 6250 euros, valid for the 1.2-liter engine with 75 HP version.