Dacia gets ready to take on Jeep

DACIA is set to reposition itself as an off-road, lifestyle-oriented brand to rival Jeep says a new report from UK publication Autocar.

The Romanian-based manufacturer, and part of the Renault Group, is on the radar for the Australian market, and has a range of new product in the pipeline that would suit Australian buyers to a tee.

According to the Autocar report, Dacia is looking to push into larger market SUV segments while simultaneously offering greater quality and an even more rugged capability set. It will demonstrate this ethos in the metal when the next-generation Duster arrives next year and follow it up with the family-focused Bigster in late 2024 or early 2025.

Renault Group design chief, Laurens van den Acker, said new CEO, Luca de Meo, wishes for once-basic Dacia to have “an aspiration beyond affordability”, leveraging the company’s no-nonsense heritage to create a range of outdoor themed new models.

“In my view, there is no serious competitor for Jeep in Europe,” said Mr van den Acker.

“Why couldn’t Dacia be that? There is no affordable brand that is linked to the outdoors, that gets you out of town, which, especially since the COVID-19 days, is becoming extremely relevant.

“Dacia is a brand that is very well positioned for people who love the outdoors. It gives you two reasons to buy the car, not just one.”

That point on its own is bound to resonate with Aussie buyers.

Speaking to GoAuto earlier this year, Australian importer Ateco Group said it is keen to bring the Romanian brand Down Under, and that a green light from head office is all that stands in the way.

Both the Duster and Bigster are in Ateco’s sights, with Renault Australia boss, Glen Sealy, telling GoAuto previously that the duo holds a lot of promise.

“Those two cars are what we are studying, working on,” said Mr Sealy of the Dacia Duster and Bigster.

“(Renault has) given positive indications, but you never know until there’s cars on the boat coming here.”

And it seems both models will hold true to Dacia’s affordable and aspirational mantra, with Mr van den Acker telling Autocar the increase in size and price will not be significant when viewed against the current range.

“Larger is true, but premium is not true,” he clarified.

“The reality is that if you start making bigger cars, you’re up against other competitors. So, we can’t simply copy the recipe from Sandero to the C-segment, that wouldn’t work.

“We have to be very clear about what is facing us in terms of the competition, because we’re not playing in the same game.

“Dacia will do what is right to be credible in the C-segment without losing its competitive advantage, which is low pricing,” he emphasised.

Mr van den Acker said the biggest challenge now facing the Renault Group is competition from Chinese-made cars bound for Europe and elsewhere. But while he admits the competition is strong, he said Dacia is best positioned to lead a fightback against newer brands.

“When all the brands are getting more expensive due to the transformation to EVs, not everyone will be able to afford this step,” he noted.

“There will be people wanting to look for decent, affordable, essential, cool transportation (and) I hope Dacia is going to pick up a lot of the leaves that will be falling off the trees.”

Indeed, rising inflation in Europe has worked in Dacia’s favour. In the first six months of 2023 the brand’s delivery volume has increased by 24 per cent. It is now the second best-selling brand in the EU for retail sales with an 8.4 per cent market share.

With Autocar