| THE NEW DACIA MODEL 01/03/2010 |
| (2010-03-01) |
| Last updated: 2010-03-02 17:12 EET |
 In Geneva, Dacia will have the largest stand in the history of the brand, exceeding those of equally famous brands like Saab, Daihatsu, Suzuki and Dodge. Duster, the new SUV built by the Romanian car maker will undoubtedly hold pride of place. The selling price will be announced in Geneva, but Dacia officials have given assurances that the price will be incredibly low. Cheap cars, initially destined for emerging markets, seduce more and more European customers. In 2009, when most car makers reported significant losses against the backdrop of the economic crisis, the Romanian car manufacturer registered significant increases in car sales in Europe, thanks to Car Scrapping programs carried out in Germany and France, for instance.
This year, although Dacia importers in Western Europe expect a 50% drop in car sales, the trump card of the Renault group will be Duster. The model marks the third revolution produced by Dacia. The first one was the launch of Dacia Logan in 2004, the second one, the launch of Sandero in 2008 and now that of a SUV, Duster. Duster will be different from and complementary to the Logan model, due to a different target of customers. Irrespective of the two versions, 4x2 drive and 4x4 drive, Dacia Duster is a robust, reliable and easy to maintain car. The first Dacia SUV is equipped with a 1.6 litre oil engine which develops a 110 horse power, or with 85 and 105 horse power diesel engines.
It will be sold on markets in Europe, Turkey and northern Africa. Duster is 4.31 m long, 1.87 m wide and 1.70 m high, falling into the category of compact cars. It weighs 1.2 tons and the trunk has a capacity of 475 litres. The specialised press says the new model was granted more than 4 stars after the EuroNCAP safety tests, and boasts a technical platform taken over from Nissan as well as a Euro 5 engine.
Dacia officials say the new SUV will bring the Renault group up to one billion Euros in 2010, when the production is expected to exceed 60,000 cars. The industrialisation of Duster, with a cost of 120 million Euros in the factory in Romania alone, will gradually be extended to Brazil and later on to Russia. By launching Duster in Europe, Renault hopes to capitalise on the success scored by Logan, with over one million cars sold on 60 markets on 4 continents, since its launch, back in 2004.
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2025-04-03
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