Dacia to Become More Germanic, Rational

Despite the Dacia brand’s sales success, Renault thinks there is still a bigger role to play. As a result, Renault will play a more important role in the management of its Dacia unit's designs as the company seeks to further differentiate the brand and to capitalize more efficiently on the low-cost division's sales success.

"Renault will become more emotional and Dacia will remain more rational," Laurens van den Acker, Renault's head of Renault design, told Automotive News Europe in an interview. "The Dacia brand is meant to be more Nordic or Germanic, as well as more robust."

The official said it is important that the two companies’ product are differentiated in order to maximize the number of potential buyers.

"It is important to position the brands so that they don't cannibalize each other. The two brands attract different clients," van den Acker added.

Last year, Dacia’s sales increased 31.7 percent to 348,279 units, while global sales of Renault brand cars were 2.12 million in 2010, compared with 1.86 million units in 2009.

With Dacia’s designs expected to stay distinct from those of Renault, future products will be more. According to Automotive News, Van den Acker said part of his mission it to reinvent Renault designs is to help make Renault and its divisions' cars designs more recognizable in an increasingly competitive world market.

"[Brand] coherence is very big on my agenda," van den Acker said.

In February, Renault said that it will launch a new family car and a small light commercial vehicle under the Dacia brand in Europe in 2012. At the moment, the Romanian carmaker sells the Logan sedan, Logan MCV, Logan van, Logan pickup, Sandero hatchback and Duster crossover.

We know that the French are good at design, but will it be enough to drive sales higher?