The future of Dacia: There's still more to Da(cia)!

Essential but cool, robust and suitable for outdoor use, and ecologically smart – these are the three pillars that Dacia has defined as its core brand values. To go along with this, they have introduced a new logo, new colors, and a more confident appearance. And the striking concept “Manifesto,” which was showcased for the first time at the Paris Motor Show.

Extremely Strong in the Private Market - No Discounts

It is clear: In times of massively rising prices everywhere, affordable alternatives are more in demand than ever – and since Chinese brands tend to enter the market from the C-segment (and often at higher prices), there is a gold rush feeling at Dacia. The numbers currently give the brand a tailwind, as Dacia-Germany CEO Thilo Schmidt has determined: In 2022, they achieved a 2.3 percent market share in Germany, and in the private segment, it was even 5.0 percent, 1.7 percent more than in 2021. According to Schmidt, this resulted in the largest increase of any brand in this segment in 2022, moving them up to sixth place, a gain of four places. Not without pride, Schmidt announced that in December they overtook Audi and Skoda – although both of these brands had an extremely weak last month. Additionally, they managed to place three models in the top 20 in the private market, almost the entire current Dacia lineup. And since Schmidt loves numbers, he can of course twist and evaluate them until Dacia is number one – namely, when looking at the private market share per model: Here, Dacia achieves 1.2 percent, which in this case is enough for the top spot.

However, no matter how the dynamic numbers manager spins the figures – Dacia is entering the new year with momentum: Although the Duster is in the final full sales year, like all models, it still received the mini facelift in the form of the new logo and additional colors. A stronger 60-HP version was added to the Spring, and the Jogger is being fully rolled out with a hybrid variant. Nonetheless, they remain true to the core brand, meaning that only what is absolutely necessary in terms of weight and equipment is installed, because “everything you don't have to install also costs no weight,” product manager Frederik Monnet rejoices and adds:

“Essential but cool means for us that we dispense with any kind of frills.”

That’s why Eco-Smart also leads to weight reduction: In fact, Dacia models are not only priced but also (fortunately) in terms of weight always at the lower end of their classes. Quality fanatics might criticize this, because naturally, the doors sound rather light when closing, and the materials in the interior are rather “light” – there are no heavy-duty rotary knobs here. But: Everything is intuitive and extremely easy to use.

The “Bigster” Will Crown the Range from 2025 - New Duster Comes in 2024

Nonetheless, Dacia is also aiming higher: The preliminary “highlight” of the model program is supposed to be the “Bigster” which will appear in 2025 and, according to Schmidt, will come pretty much exactly as it was shown in Dreieich. Except for the raised lettering on the side plastic trim, which not only Schmidt found “really cool” – and would have lifted into the program as an option, being the salesperson he is. In fact, the C-segment SUV visually impresses and, according to Schmidt, is supposed to maintain the distance to all others in the market, that Duster or Sandero offer compared to the respective models of other brands. For comparison: The Duster starts at 15,000 euros, where others start just below 20,000 euros, the Sandero begins at 10,750 euros, where a Skoda Fabia starts at around 12,300 euros at the cheapest. According to Monnet, the Bigster then covers 64 percent of the market.

Electric Mobility: Ready at the Right Time. For now, it remains the Spring

And electric mobility? Well, Renault and Nissan are given the lead here. Between the lines, it is already hinted that they will develop upwards in this area as well and rely on the CMF-EV platform. After the "Bigster", a C-segment compact class model could follow alongside the Mégane E-Tech, aiming to lure customers away from the likes of MG4. And there will also be an electric model in the SUV category based on this platform.

For the Spring, we'll have to see how its successor develops – as it originally started as the combustion engine "Kwid", which was specifically designed for India and later "transferred" into an electric model in China. Given further demand for the model in Asia, it would be easy to launch a successor here as well. Perhaps with a bit more space and range, but still under a ton in weight?

Extremely high residual values – the supply of used cars remains thinner than elsewhere at Dacia

Lastly, Dacia also invited Denis Knuth from DAT to take a look at the residual values, which turned out to be dramatically high: in fact, one still pays up to 85 percent of the new price for a three-year-old Dacia with 45,000 to 60,000 kilometers, whereas the market is generally at about 65 percent. Knuth quickly compiled the reasons for this: since many vehicles are privately purchased, they often remain in the "fleet" longer, making the supply of young used cars significantly lower than for other brands. Especially since Dacia provides a three-year warranty or up to 100,000 kilometers. And here Schmidt can jump in with more numbers: since an optional warranty extension for up to 72 months is offered and frequently taken, many owners drive their models correspondingly longer. According to Knuth, there are also many vehicles in the inventory that are over 120 months – or ten years – in the first ownership. Schmidt adds that in terms of service – if they haven't taken out a warranty extension – these older vehicles often quickly turn their backs on Dacia dealers. Schmidt also has numbers and explains:

"In sales, our dealers are above average, but in service, we are still below average."

However, the dynamic manager loves all kinds of challenges – and with the tailwind that the brand currently has, he also likes to tweak many small screws.

What does that mean?

Dacia remains true to itself: those expecting innovations and solid vault quality won't find them here. But you'll still get absolutely simple lightweight cars that offer exactly what is really needed in their respective segments. No more, no less. And all this at genuinely affordable prices. A virtue that many manufacturers seem to be increasingly losing.