Dacia wants to become a serious rival for Jeep: the low-cost brand of the Renault group will change its appearance. This was revealed in an interview with the British magazine Autocar by Laurens van den Acker, Chief
Design Officer of the French car giant, according to which Dacia will be progressively repositioned on the market as a lifestyle-oriented off-road vehicle manufacturer. With the aim of competing in Europe, where it currently holds an 8.4% stake, directly with the American brand Stellantis, writes La Repubblica.
The turning point desired by Renault CEO Luca de Meo, who plans to give Dacia “an aspiration that goes beyond affordability”, will begin with the next-generation Duster, due to go into production in 2024 as a tougher off-road version of Mioveni’s small SUV. The Bigster will follow: a larger, more expensive sport utility aimed at families. Model which, according to Laurens van den Acker, despite the increase in size and inevitably the price, will in any case keep the direction of the current Dacia range, while adapting its content and equipment to the standards of the C segment.
“The reality is that if you start making bigger cars, you face other competitors. Which is why we can’t just copy the Sandero recipe, it wouldn’t work. Dacia will do everything right to be credible in the C segment without losing its competitive advantage, which is above all the low price”.
The further expansion of Dacia’s market horizon, explains the Dutch designer, will help the Renault group cope with the wave of highly competitive Chinese cars heading to the Old Continent.
“When the brands become more expensive, due to the transition to electric vehicles, not everyone will be able to afford these prices and there will be people who will be looking for convenient, essential and interesting means of transport. I hope that Dacia will face the challenge in the best possible way”.
2023-08-28 05:58:16
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