Photo: Dacia
It’s been two years since Dacia, Renault’s Romanian-based budget brand, has offered a pickup and now the brand is back on the bed-gifted vehicle market with the Duster Pick-Up.
Unlike the Logan Pick-Up that came before it, the special Duster isn’t a series production model. The vehicle was created following the request of OMV Petrom, a key fleet customer. A total of 500 units are to be built, of which the first ten examples have already been delivered.
The utilitarian proposal is based on the Duster 1.5 dCi 110 4WD, which means the 110 horses of the four-cylinder diesel can be sent to all four wheels - OMV Petrom, which is the largest oil company in South-Eastern Europe, requested an offroading vehicle with a bed, required to reach remote locations.
The bed has a length of 1.7 meters (inches), while the suspension has been tweaked to cope with the new requirements. Still, the payload sits at 450 kg (992 lbs) which is behind the usual norm in the segment.
The project debuted in late 2012, with the vehicle being spied during its final testing phase back in August.
Nonetheless, Dacia insists that the vehicle remains a limited production model. The problem here is that the customers expected an evolution of the assets offered by the Logan Pick-Up. To be more precise, Dacia determined buyers were looking for a solid 1-ton payload and a double cab. That would require a Renault Group engineering effort, which isn't possible, since Renault will have a pickup truck of its own (sort of) in 2016.
A coachbuilder collaboration
Given the limited production run, the truck transformation isn’t handled by Dacia itself. Instead, the company turned to one of its longtime partners, a coachbuilder named Romturingia. Dacia delivers the vehicles to Romturingia, who takes care of the conversion and then sends the final product to the customers.The utilitarian proposal is based on the Duster 1.5 dCi 110 4WD, which means the 110 horses of the four-cylinder diesel can be sent to all four wheels - OMV Petrom, which is the largest oil company in South-Eastern Europe, requested an offroading vehicle with a bed, required to reach remote locations.
The bed has a length of 1.7 meters (inches), while the suspension has been tweaked to cope with the new requirements. Still, the payload sits at 450 kg (992 lbs) which is behind the usual norm in the segment.
The project debuted in late 2012, with the vehicle being spied during its final testing phase back in August.
Markets, it’s all about the markets
Earlier reports suggested the Duster Pick-Up would also be offered in Morocco, a solid market where Dacia also builds cars. Speaking of this, the vehicle could have also been branded as a Renault for the Russian market, for instance.Nonetheless, Dacia insists that the vehicle remains a limited production model. The problem here is that the customers expected an evolution of the assets offered by the Logan Pick-Up. To be more precise, Dacia determined buyers were looking for a solid 1-ton payload and a double cab. That would require a Renault Group engineering effort, which isn't possible, since Renault will have a pickup truck of its own (sort of) in 2016.
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