The French site, Worldscoop forum, specialized in spy photos has published the first photo of the interior of the Dacia Lodgy. The photos were made in a winter landscape, during the recent tests made by the Dacia engineers.

More details on www.dacialodgympv.com

The characteristics of the new commercial model are also a mystery, the only statement that the Dacia officials give about the new vehicle being: "it will meet the demands of our fleet customers", customers that are very important to Dacia.

Most likely, the new commercial vehicle will receive the front from a new Dacia model, along with a number of common components. The most likely hypothesis suggests that the new Dacia commercial vehicle will take the front of the Lodgy and will have dimensions close to it, like the other models from the Dacia range, the Logan and the Logan MCV. The launch of Logan’s successor has not been confirmed by the officials of the Romanian brand, a sign that the Logan 2 debut could take place in 2013, at the Geneva Motor Show.

Some voices suggest a starting price of 13,000 euros for the petrol version while the diesel version will have a starting price estimated at 15,000 euros. The production will take place in Morocco (because the Mioveni factory has already reached the maximum capacity) and the components will be taken from the X90 platform and other platforms of the Renault-Nissan Alliance.

The future Dacia Popster is the Renault proposal for the emerging markets and promises to have a big influence in the seven-seater MPV market in Europe. According to some estimates, the model has a length of 4.5 meters and the seven seats could be offered as standard. If Dacia will offer this model at a price close to the values ​​stated above, the Popster will be the cheapest seven-seater MPV in Europe, which should ensure its success in this market.

Source: L’Automobile

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.

"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 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

"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.

"We have new projects with Volkswagen and Renault. For the future X52 model we will have basically the same engines with small changes. They became more efficient and with lower carbon emissions and lower fuel consumption," said Catalin Tischer, the General Director of Mahle, the supplier of air filters for Dacia and other major European car manufacturers.

The Logan’s successor will have to compete in 2012 with new models that will be launched by Citroen and Peugeot. Besides these, Skoda promises for some time a low cost model that will rival Logan and other major car manufacturers also have in plan to launch a low cost model. It remains to be seen whether the Dacia-Renault will be able to apply the new recipe for success that characterized the Logan model in the case of the second generation. This time, the Romanian car manufacturer has all eyes of the European market fixed on it.

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.