About half of Renault’s 300-strong UK dealer network will launch Dacia’s long-anticipated return to the UK market, beginning with the sub-GBP8,000 (c. US$16,000), five-door Sandero hatchback next January, according to the brand’s UK managing director Roland Bouchara.
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The return of the brand as a bolt-on operation to Renault dealerships adds to the portfolio of value brands in the UK and marks a response to South Korean manufacturers and General Motors’ Chevrolet, all of which source cars from eastern Europe and South Korea.
The Sandero, badged as a Renault in South America where it is built in Brazil, will be sourced from Romania for European markets. Production there began last October.
Here in the UK, two dCi diesel versions should offer sub-120g/kilometre C02 emission ratings (which brings road tax savings and exemption from London’s congestion charge from 27 October). Other variants include 1.4- and 1.6-litre petrol-powered models.
Bouchara told just-auto Renault was planning regional meetings with dealers to present a “more precise strategy on how we see the business developing.”
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By GlobalDataHe added: “If there was some reluctance about Dacia before, the Sandero should remove that. Obviously the range will expand and everything must be justified by the return on investment.
“We will probably have up to 150 outlets on board for the launch. Renault has identified where our Dacia customers are. Low cost investment does not mean low profitability and we need to be extremely careful in preserving the low cost basis of the Dacia approach. This means shared back office resources.”
He admitted that certain outlets would involve: “some showroom corner operations and some outside, we need to be pragmatic about whether or not there are features like stand-alone service facilities.”
Bouchara, who relishes the challenge of establishing a new value brand, said: “I am a great believer in this car and its approach. It will not only bring people over from Korean brands but also attract customers considering used cars and small budget models like Peugeot’s 107.
I think cannibalisation of Renault products will be minimal, particularly as our entry model Campus, or Clio II, is being deleted.”
He also doubted any overlap with the recently-launched Twingo (the LHD-only ‘original’ was not officially imported), despite the recent introduction of the £7,500 1.2-litre petrol Extreme entry-level model to combat Fiat’s entry-level 500 variants.
Other Dacia models will be added to the range, but the original Logan saloon will not offered in the UK. Renault’s marketing analysts are considering the seven-seater MCV estate car, a pick-up truck and a van.
Cost effective development and production processes plus keen factory wage rates were behind the original Logan saloon, elements since applied within Renault’s own development and production processes.
It had a target launch price of EU5,000 (GBP3,700) but European safety requirements and equipment expectations resulted in today’s French-market entry-level price for a 1.6-litre version of EUR7,600 or GBP5,700.
Dacia sales in western Europe increased by just under 68% last year, totalling nearly 70,000 vehicles and in three years Renault’s budget brand has risen to ninth on France’s best-seller chart.
Britain will be the last western European Dacia market to come on stream.
The brand is described as “affordable, rugged and reliable” in Dacia’s press material and Renault UK is believed to be considering a “minimalist” sales and marketing approach, including dedicated internet sales and ordering.
Dacia has previously sold cars in the UK. Its last offering – about 20 years ago – was a variant of Renault’s 1970s-era Renault 12 saloon which the Romanian firm built under licence from the French automaker.
Hugh Hunston
