Dacia UK Launch Possible in 2010

Renault's Dacia low-cost brand might arrive in the United Kingdom as soon as 2010, officials of the French manufacturer hinted. Basically, Renault delayed the UK launch of the Romanian brand because of the pound's weakness against the euro but the recovering market could allow the French company to reconsider its initial plans.

Renault’s managing director Roland Bouchara told Autocar in an interview that Dacia will bring an entire range of vehicles and not only a single model, such as the Logan or the Sandero.

"The weakness of the pound meant we had to cancel the planned launch of Dacia," said Bouchara. "There was no way it could be sold at a profit. Dacia will soon have a full range of cars, which would spread the cost of a launch. We will take another look at it in 2010."

Renault's Dacia sold a total of 153,826 cars in the first half of 2009, with the Sandero accounting for 68,496 units in both the domestic and the worldwide markets. The Logan range posted sales of 85,330 units.

The United Kingdom is not the only country included in Renault's expansion plans for Dacia. The company in June debuted the Sandero in Morocco, a country is expected to bring high sales for this particular model.

The SOMACA factory (Société Marocaine de Construction Automobile) assembles the Sandero using CKD (Completely Knocked Down) kits sourced from Romania. The French parent company says that no less than 16 million euros were invested in this production facility, with Renault working on a specific body shop, an increase in the capacity of the paint shop, as well as the modernization of a rolling road test-bed at the end of the assembly line.