Dacia is possibly one of the most successful brands of the Renault Group. Since its integration 18 years ago, it has already sold more than 7.5 million units and has achieved a market share of 7.5% in Europe in the first half of 2022.
With rising commodity, energy and inflation prices, this trend is only expected to increase. This was revealed by its CEO
Denis Votedin the presentation of its new corporate identity, which encompasses much more than a change of logo, which was unveiled earlier this year.
“Market trends will only favor us”, said the manager, referring to the loss of purchasing power. “Access to mobility will become an increasing issue going forward, and customers with purchasing power are making value-oriented decisions.”
Therefore, Dacia wants to emphasize its value for money. “I never liked to define ourselves as ‘low-cost’,” declared Le Vot. His brand, within the Renault universe, is focused on the Essential as a concept. With this approach,
are able to offer comparatively less equipped vehicles than its competition at a much more competitive price.
If this is remarkable, for example, in the world of electric cars, or, available for less than 20,000 euros; It will be much more so when they enter one of the most disputed segments in Europe, that of the C-SUV.
He will do it with the Bigster in 2024.
The tendency of all manufacturers is to incorporate more equipment to differentiate themselves from their rivals and approach the premium segment, which unlocks higher unit margins, something essential in the world of scarcity of semiconductors.
Instead, Dacia allows you to get rid of the radio and use the owner’s mobile as a multimedia system, placing a bracket on the dashboard to hold it. The brand estimates that 15% of its sales are with this configuration.
“The price increase trend is a reality and will continue to be so at Dacia,” said Vice President of Product Performance,
Lionel Jaillet. “However, as this is a general situation for all manufacturers, the difference will be much more noticeable with us, especially in the C segment.”
Within the Renault Group,
Dacia wants to stand as the standard of ‘off-road’ and adventure, a public for which performance, robustness and respect for the environment are essential. For this reason, they already offer 4×4 traction or a downhill speed control mode in their Duster or they are going to introduce a line of camping products, such as a support to make a double bed in the back of the Jogger.
With regard to sustainability, the Dacia currently have 12% recycled plastics
–the industry average is 8%–, a percentage that they intend to increase to 20% thanks to their new polymer, Starkle. This compound is more expensive than using unrecycled trim plastic, but they expect its price to moderate as oil prices rise.
Within engines, the manufacturer continues betting on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG),
a solution that currently accounts for 34% of its sales and some 500,000 units sold in the last decade. In Europe, 15 million vehicles (mainly industrial) move with this technology, with Turkey, Poland, Italy, France and Spain being the top five.
In the future, all the combustion models they introduce will have an LPG variant, even after the Euro 7 regulations are introduced. The first hybrid engine, a heritage of Renault’s E-Tech technology, will be introduced in 2023 with the new Duster and the others “will go as far as necessary to meet emissions, but we’re not worried,” Jaillet said.
The Dacia Manifesto Concept /
The moon buggy concept
In addition to renewing its brand image and doing a facelift for its six current models, Dacia presented the Manifesto concept in Paris, a vehicle in which the essential and the ‘outdoor’ are raised to maximum power, to the point of imagining it more easily on the lunar surface than on Earth.
It is a compact electric SUV of 3.6 meters in lengthpuncture-resistant wheels, powerful headlights that can be removed to be used as flashlights or a seat cover that can be removed and used as a sleeping bag.
“It is impossible for this model to be seen on the streets,” said its designers, “but some elements will be introduced from 2024, with the new Duster.” For example, the new line of X-Trim finishes, much more robust and focused on adventure.
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