The first indicator of the strength of a brand in the market is, without fantasizing too much, of sales. If we talk about Automobilesand more precisely of cars that go to LPG, Dacia it is certainly the model to follow. The Groupe Renault brand leads the segment with an organic range, consisting of Sandero, Duster and also the new Jogger, 5 or 7-seater vehicle which is the longest in the offer. But what does the future hold, as far as LPG is concerned? We talked about it during the meeting Dacia Talksalong with some brand executives.
The necessary premise is that Dacia does not want and cannot stop betting on the GPL, not only for Italy but for Europe as a whole. As mentioned, sales are good, LPG prices are currently affordable and the technology is consolidated, safe and above all economically affordable. It goes on, even with pride.
The Managing Director of Dacia Italia, Guido Tocciexplained that the positioning of Dacia is always clear, even without the label of the low cost. He spoke of ‘Best value for money‘, a concept that will also be applied to future cars such as the Bigster. Of course, the redefinition of ‘essential’ is also valid for Dacia. But in segments such as LPG, the brand starts from a privileged position. Its market shares are clearly a strong point (40% in Italy). Tocci explained that we can safely talk about hybrid also with regard to the combination of petrol and LPG, but with the advantage, compared to plug-in power stations, of a sufficient network throughout Europe. In fact, there are 30,000 LPG stations, 4,500 in Italy; of these, 300 run along the motorway network.
Didier Michaud, Dacia Platforms & Powertrains Leadersaid a FormulaPassion.it that in the future of LPG sees an expansion of the range as possible, with an increasing number of vehicles and usable engines to be evaluated. The strategy will certainly be European, without too many distinctions between the various countries: in fact, if the LPG works in Italy and France, why not continue to export the same type of message elsewhere? Not to mention that today the Dacia brand is considered more qualitative than in the past, thanks also to the design, which is ‘free’. In fact, his thesis is clear: if a product has value, why not make it too nice?
According to Michaud, the current bifuel system mounted on the Dacia (with the collaboration of Landi Renzo) allows for better torque and greater recovery than the same models with petrol only. The safety problems have all been overcome, although some resistance remains on the part of motorists. It could be Dacia’s jobthrough further communication campaigns, explain why the GPL should no longer be regarded as dangerousperhaps highlighting even more the functioning of the valve which excludes the explosion risks that were talked about many years ago.
But who buys LPG cars? We have a clearer idea after the meeting with Dacia. We are talking in particular of motorists who live outside the city (commuters or not), with an average age rather advanced (over 50 years old). The LPG family car is often the second car, essentially for a complementary purpose. Even if Dacia still has a large audience for this segment, one of the goals it could set itself is to specifically try to engage a younger audience, also to rejuvenate its ‘customer base’. The future could also reveal surprises, such as new configurations of LPG engines capable of leading the way to even more efficient cars. However, since Dacia is a truly concrete brand in its action on the market, the intention to consolidate the results already obtained in order to keep the relationship between price and quality offered convenient, before evaluating technical revolutions will always remain present.
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