The Romanian marque, which is part of the Renault Group, is on the rise and looks forward to growing demand for its cars in the future due to with which she has to reserve additional production capacity.
Dacia finished last year with a 6.8% increase in sales (compared to 2021) to 573,800 vehicles, the Sandero hatchback was the most in demand (224,847 units sold), in second place was the Duster crossover (193,855 units), the third place was taken by the cross-universal Dacia Jogger (56,636 units). The latter is considered Dacia's first C-Class model (overall length — 4547 mm, wheelbase — 2897 mm) and its first hybrid model — the Hybrid 140 version debuted last fall, it borrowed the E-Tech power plant from the hybrid Renault Clio.
Dacia Jogger
Dacia's operating margin now exceeds 10%, which is a very good figure for a brand that produces budget cars, it was made possible by the fact that Dacia has kept the development costs of new models to a comfortable minimum, since Renault Group supplies platforms, power plants and electronics. The current CEO of the Renault Group, Luca de Meo, greatly appreciates the Dacia brand and its contribution to the general cash register of the Renault Group, but wants Dacia's operating margin to grow to 15% by 2030 — this, by the way, is already at the level of premium brands such as Audi.
Increasing profitability of the Dacia division will inevitably lead to a rise in car prices: the Jogger at the time of its debut turned out to be the most expensive model in the range, the next generation Duster will be even more expensive (especially considering that electric all-wheel drive is predicted for it), and at the top of the range there will be a compact crossover based on 2021 Bigster concept (the name of the production car may be different).
Dacia Bigster
Today, the press service of Dacia confirmed that the production of the new Duster will begin in 2024, Bigster — in 2025, both crossovers will be produced at the main Dacia plant in the Romanian city of Mioveni, they will be based on the CMF-B modular platform. Demand for both crossovers is likely to be high, and to meet it, Dacia will start assembling Jogger in the spring of 2024 at a joint plant with Renault in Tangier, Morocco, which now produces the Dacia Sandero and the Renault Express heel. The release of the Jogger in Romania after 2024 will continue, but if the demand for the Duster and Bigster exceeds expectations, then the Jogger can be fully «fused» in Morocco.
Renault Express production at Tangier plant
Dacia's future plans will depend heavily on whether automakers can convince/force the EU to relax Euro 7 environmental regulations, which should come into force in 2025 . Luca de Meo, who this year also holds the same position as president of ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers Association), in February lashed out at the Euro 7 standards, he is supported by the heads of Stellantis and Skoda — perhaps together they will be able to negotiate a more profitable edition from the EU authorities Euro 7, otherwise you can forget about the 15% margin for Dacia, the brand will have to hurry to prepare for a full transition to electric vehicles. At the moment, there is only one electric train in the Dacia range — the Chinese-made Spring cross-hatchback.