← Continued from Page 8 of "From Dacia 1300 to Dacia Logan/Duster. The History of a Controversial Brand"In 2007, the Dacia Sandero was rolled, a small 5-door hatchback designed to cost at most 9,500 Euro for the top of the line version. Since 2007, all Logan models are Euro 4 compliant and are scheduled to switch to Euro 5 in 2010-2011.
2008 meant another Logan facelift as well as more and more sales, both in Romania and abroad. Dacia was selling better than even Renault had hoped and more and more manufacturers start thinking about creating cheaper cars, for a market segment they did not believe was so vast. Tough luck. A quick look at Dacia’s history would have revealed what cars need to sell well. A large boot, as large as humanly possible, as cheap as possible and as low quality as possible. And of course, no “luxury” features whatsoever because... “idiots” don’t need anything beside the bare minimum.
40 years have passed since Nicolae Ceausescu concluded that Dacia was the “perfect car for idiots”. 40 years since a poor Renault 8 was brutally truncated because it was too luxurious for the people considered as “idiots” by their leader.
A few million Romanian “idiots” have bought, more or less willingly, a Dacia over more than 30 years. There was no alternative. Other millions will probably be made and sold like hot cakes by Renault to people from countries all over the EU and not only. The difference is those people have a choice, and yet they choose Dacia for the better price.
What did Renault do exactly for the new Dacia? How much R&D do you feel while test driving a Logan? How many technological innovations can be found on a Dacia in 2010? How much satisfaction is there in driving a Logan? How safe can a low cost car like the Logan be?
Quite a bunch of questions, a single answer.
In 2010, the Dacia Duster comes into play. The first Dacia SUV ever to exist. A tad shorter than the Logan but with a generous ground clearance and optional all-wheel drive, Dacia Duster drove the foreign markets mad. Based on the same platform as the Logan, Duster revived a name previously used by Romanians to sell ARO 10 cars in the UK. If you remember, in the 90s, there was an attempt to market the ARO10 as… Dacia Duster.
Dacia Duster doesn’t impress with luxurious features, doesn’t offer exceptional comfort, is not a stable or very safe car, and yet it sells better than any other SUV in its price range. A range that’s not at all modest. An all-wheel drive Duster starts at 12,500 Euro and can reach 16,000 Euro.
I simply don’t get why it’s considered a cheap car. It’s one or the other: either people have too much money to spend, or I have too little. And it seems that several potential clients think the same way: “Dacia has had a decent start in 2010. Were we to judge based on what was happening on the local market, in January we should have been working just 7 and a half hours per day. And yet, we managed to export 22,000 cars and now we’re counting on the Duster to help us get through this year of financial crisis” – Constantin Stroe, vicepresident of Dacia, January 2010.
What’s certain is that Duster sales have surpassed even the most optimistic predictions of Renault’s management and continue to be on the rise.
“The Duster has just been launched on the market. Still, demand is now 2-3 times larger than our greatest expectations. Out of every 10 cars built, one is sold in Romania, the other 9 are exported”, said Constantin Stroe for the Romanian press.
This statement says it all. From a local brand that indulged in sweet monopoly for over 30 years, Dacia has managed, in a relatively short time, to sell better on foreign markets than at home.
In the meantime, Romania continues on the path of progress and, most likely, new problems will arise for the Dacia-Renault group.
“We have a very well defined strategy in place until 2015. Dacia-Renault has absolutely everything it needs to build automobiles. Only one thing worries me. If the wages increase trend gets out of hand nationwide, Dacia will lose some of its appeal. For the last 20 years, the automotive industry has migrated from West to East.” – Constantin Stroe, August 2010.
2008 meant another Logan facelift as well as more and more sales, both in Romania and abroad. Dacia was selling better than even Renault had hoped and more and more manufacturers start thinking about creating cheaper cars, for a market segment they did not believe was so vast. Tough luck. A quick look at Dacia’s history would have revealed what cars need to sell well. A large boot, as large as humanly possible, as cheap as possible and as low quality as possible. And of course, no “luxury” features whatsoever because... “idiots” don’t need anything beside the bare minimum.
40 years have passed since Nicolae Ceausescu concluded that Dacia was the “perfect car for idiots”. 40 years since a poor Renault 8 was brutally truncated because it was too luxurious for the people considered as “idiots” by their leader.
A few million Romanian “idiots” have bought, more or less willingly, a Dacia over more than 30 years. There was no alternative. Other millions will probably be made and sold like hot cakes by Renault to people from countries all over the EU and not only. The difference is those people have a choice, and yet they choose Dacia for the better price.
What did Renault do exactly for the new Dacia? How much R&D do you feel while test driving a Logan? How many technological innovations can be found on a Dacia in 2010? How much satisfaction is there in driving a Logan? How safe can a low cost car like the Logan be?
Quite a bunch of questions, a single answer.
In 2010, the Dacia Duster comes into play. The first Dacia SUV ever to exist. A tad shorter than the Logan but with a generous ground clearance and optional all-wheel drive, Dacia Duster drove the foreign markets mad. Based on the same platform as the Logan, Duster revived a name previously used by Romanians to sell ARO 10 cars in the UK. If you remember, in the 90s, there was an attempt to market the ARO10 as… Dacia Duster.
Dacia Duster doesn’t impress with luxurious features, doesn’t offer exceptional comfort, is not a stable or very safe car, and yet it sells better than any other SUV in its price range. A range that’s not at all modest. An all-wheel drive Duster starts at 12,500 Euro and can reach 16,000 Euro.
I simply don’t get why it’s considered a cheap car. It’s one or the other: either people have too much money to spend, or I have too little. And it seems that several potential clients think the same way: “Dacia has had a decent start in 2010. Were we to judge based on what was happening on the local market, in January we should have been working just 7 and a half hours per day. And yet, we managed to export 22,000 cars and now we’re counting on the Duster to help us get through this year of financial crisis” – Constantin Stroe, vicepresident of Dacia, January 2010.
What’s certain is that Duster sales have surpassed even the most optimistic predictions of Renault’s management and continue to be on the rise.
“The Duster has just been launched on the market. Still, demand is now 2-3 times larger than our greatest expectations. Out of every 10 cars built, one is sold in Romania, the other 9 are exported”, said Constantin Stroe for the Romanian press.
This statement says it all. From a local brand that indulged in sweet monopoly for over 30 years, Dacia has managed, in a relatively short time, to sell better on foreign markets than at home.
In the meantime, Romania continues on the path of progress and, most likely, new problems will arise for the Dacia-Renault group.
“We have a very well defined strategy in place until 2015. Dacia-Renault has absolutely everything it needs to build automobiles. Only one thing worries me. If the wages increase trend gets out of hand nationwide, Dacia will lose some of its appeal. For the last 20 years, the automotive industry has migrated from West to East.” – Constantin Stroe, August 2010.
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