Dacia News

Dacia manages to make history in France, where only Honda and Mini customers are more satisfied with the models they purchased. According to a survey realized during the last six months by Auto Plus, 32.000 customers of the brands sold in France  decided that Dacia has third place in the top customer satisfaction after Honda and Mini.

The ranking was determined on the basis of the degree of satisfaction of customer expectations, and other criteria like: manufacturing quality, reliability, problems encountered and the time of immobilization of the car in case of repair. Another important criteria to consider in the French study was that the customer has expressed regret or not that bought the car or if he will buy a new car from the same brand in the future.

In the ranking resulted from the survey leads Honda (92.5% customer satisfaction), followed by Mini (87.5% customer satisfaction) and Dacia (86.1% customer satisfaction). After the Romanian car manufacturer were ranked Audi (85.1% customer satisfaction), Skoda (84.5% customer satisfaction) and BMW (the Bavarian brand fell from second to fifth position from 2009 to 2010). The top 10 brands that have satisfied the French continues with Mazda (81.7% customer satisfaction), Mercedes (74.1% customer satisfaction), Toyota (70.9% customer satisfaction) and Ford (70.3% customer satisfaction).

In the models top customer satisfaction, Sandero has succeeded to be ranked sixth overall, with 87.6% degree of satisfaction of customers. In front of Sandero are: Toyota Prius (1 place, 96.2% customer satisfaction), Honda CRV (second place, 92.7% customer satisfaction), Honda Jazz (third place, 92.3% customer satisfaction), Honda Civic (fourth place, 90.6% customer satisfaction) and BMW 1 Series (88.2% customer satisfaction). The Logan model that helped Dacia to have a real success in France, ranked 18th  (with 82.2% customer satisfaction) in front of other models like Skoda Octavia (ranked 23), BMW X3 (ranked 24) Citroen C5 (26th place), Toyota Avensis (ranked 33), Volkswagen Passat (37th place) and Ford Mondeo (place 42).

The French car manufacturer, Renault, has confirmed that will sell Dacia cars in Ireland, and the first model that will enter the Irish market will be the first Romanian SUV – the Duster, according to the Irish Times.

The Dacia cars produced  in Romania will be sold exclusively through Irish Renault dealers, that will be selected by the French car manufacturer.

The announcement about the launching of Dacia cars in Ireland came just weeks after the Chinese car manufacturer Great Wall has confirmed it will enter the Irish market with their small budget cars.

After it will be launched on the European markets under the Dacia logo, the new Duster will move to the South American markets under the Renault logo. If in the case of Sandero, the small hatchback that was first launched in Brazil and then in Europe, Dacia officials decided to launch Duster in Europe and then in South America.

The Renault version of Duster will be produced at the Envigado factory in Colombia, where Renault invested 20 million euros for training and adaptation of the assembly line of an SUV. On the Colombian factory will be produced 20.000 Duster units which will be sold in Colombia and other countries in the area like Mexico.

At the moment Renault sells in Colombia models like Clio, Megane, Scenic, Grand Scenic, Kangoo and Koleos and Logan, Sandero and Sandero Stepway from Dacia.

Renault confirmed the debut of Dacia in the United Kingdom market in 2012. The Renault officials made this announce at the Geneva Motor Show and completed that Duster will be the first Romanian car present in the English market.

The Renault officials didn’t give any details abut the price of Duster in the UK, and have not announced which models will present in the English market after Duster. The French suggested a potential launch of Logan and Sandero in the UK market, but the presence of the two appreciate models has not been confirmed officially.

The debut of Dacia brand in the UK market has been postponed several times in recent years due to unfavorable exchange ratio between the euro and the pound.  The UK Division Director of Renault, Roland Bouchara, said that the quality/price ratio of Dacia models will be attractive to UK customers.

Dacia Duster will be launched today at 14.45 in the Geneva Motor Show. Here are the first pictures from Geneva.

Source: Automarket 

More pictures and news from Geneva on www.daciaduster.org

Dacia Logan Pick-up with an electric engine will be sold on the North American market under the name Electric Motor Car, by the people from Envision Motor Co.

The electric models, sold under the brand of Electric Motor Cars are based on the chassis and bodywork of Dacia Logan Pick Up or MCV/VAN and will be powered by electric American motors.

The price of the electric Logan Pick Up will start from 34.000 dollars (almost 25.000 euros).

Dacia wants to develop and manufacture two new models, said Fabrice Cambolive, the commercial director of Dacia, and added that it is too early to give details about new models.

Currently, Dacia produces 6 models of cars, Logan, Logan MCV, Logan Van, Logan Pick-up, Dacia Sandero and Dacia Sandero Stepway.

The Romanian car manufacturer, member of the French Group Renault, sold 311.282 cars last year, up 20.5% over 2008, but sales in Romania have decreased by over 50% to 41.862 cars. Dacia still managed to slightly increase its share on the Romanian market.

The strong increase of sales last year was driven mainly by success in Western Europe, where Dacia has sold over 200,000 cars.

Mahindra & Renault presented at the Auto Motor Show in New Delhi the Logan Tourer that has several minor interior design improvements to the series model. The improvements are implemented to the old Logan version, adapted to the Indian market with the wheel on the right, and not to the European model that received a face-lift more than a year ago. 

The Logan Tourer has bicolor leather seats cover, wood imitation on the console, a better carpet and a better audio system with MP3 and Bluetooth connectivity. The Logan Tourer will be powered by petrol and diesel engines and will be available in three colors: java brown, mist silver and diamond white.

Dacia cars got for the first time in the top 3 of the most reliable cars in France according to an analysis of the UFC- Que-Chiosir quoted by Le Figaro.

On the first positions were the Japanese brand Toyota with a reliability index of 96.2% and Lexus wit a reliability index of 94.13%. Dacia got a reliability index of 92.61%.

Dacia was also placed first among the cars with the lowest costs of maintenance and repair, 130 euros per year, compared Mazda (229 euros per year) and Ford (230 euros per year).

The Romanian car manufacturer, Dacia, presented the first official details of Duster, a compact SUV, that will be launched next year in march in Geneva. Dacia Duster is based on the Logan platform, has dimensions close to the Dacia MCV (4.31 meters long) and uses the Nissan 4×4 technology. Although prices were not yet communicate it is thought that the starting price will be about 12.000 to 13.000 euros.

The new model, which measures 4.31 meters long and 1.82 meters wide, will be available in 4X2 and 4X4 versions with a gasoline engine of 1.6 liters and 110 horsepower, and two diesel engines of 1.5 liters and 85 horsepower respectively 1.5 liters and 105 horsepower.

Duster has a global ambition and the launch will take place gradually in different regions of the world, after the Logan and Sandero launched plan.

Dacia Duster will be launched in the spring of 2010 in Europe, in Turkey and in Algeria and Morocco. From June 2010, Duster will be launched under the Renault brand in Ukraine, the Middle East (Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon), Egypt and some African countries. The Mioveni factory will produce vehicles for all these markets, both under the Dacia brand, and under the Renault brand. The factory with a current production capacity of 350.000 vehicles per year, will continue to produce other models of the mark. This is great news for those who are looking to purchase one of these.

The Duster expansion will continue in 2011. In the countries of the Persian Gulf will be available under the Renault brand from 2011. Dacia Duster will be produced in Brazil, in the Curitiba factory, along with Sandero, Logan and Stepway models. Vehicles manufactured here will be sold in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Chile.
Renault is also studying to return in the U.S. market after 23 year absence.

“We analyse the re-launching opportunities in the U.S., and the model that might influence this decision is the new SUV from Dacia” said Gerard Detourbet, charge entry-level division at Renault.