Simca Reborn, to Fight Dacia

When French manufacturer Renault bought Romanian brand Dacia before the world passed into the new millennium, the news appeared only briefly in international media. Now, years later, Dacia, ugly, low cost and unreliable as some consider it to be, managed to impress the world and, compared to the usual figures added in the Mioveni HQ, now enjoys the best period of its time.

The success of the low cost brand has caught the eye of Renault's competition, especially of French rival PSA (the alliance between Peugeot and Citroen) who, despite a global rebound in the automotive industry, isn't exactly at the top of the consumers' preferences.

In an attempt to tap into the segment so widely opened by Renault, PSA is now said to be considering its own low cost brand. And, since there aren't many such brands to go around in Europe, PSA is planning, according to AutoBild, to revive the Simca badge.

The brand, which was founded by Fiat back in 1934 as the Societe Industrielle de Mécanique et Carrosserie Automobile, passed through several hands, including Chrysler's, before reaching those of the PSA in the late 1970s. The brand died soon after, but it is now considered as the prime target for a low-cost PSA line.

According to the source, citing PSA's Philippe Varin, the first model to wear the Simca badge might be a low-cost version of the 408, called Simca 1307 (recipient of the European Car of the Year in 1976).

So far, there are no other details available on the project, but it's likely more will surface soon, as PSA will try and move into the low-cost segment before Dacia gets too comfortable there.