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Renault weighing up Dacia budget brand for Australia

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By Jez Spinks |
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French car maker Renault says its Dacia budget brand is being considered for a future in the Australian market.

The Romanian brand, purchased by Renault in 1999, is perhaps best known for being the butt of a running joke on the news section of BBC’s Top Gear show.

In recent years, models such as the Dacia Duster (above) and Dacia Logan (below) have proved surprisingly popular in Western Europe. The success of the models hasn’t gone unnoticed by Renault Australia, though the local subsidiary says there is still much to consider.

“We’ll look at how [the brand] is doing in Europe. It is interesting in that regard,” Renault Australia boss Justin Hocevar said. “But there are other aspects of the Australian market that do lead to questioning whether it would be right.

“Driving dynamics… have Australians set themselves a benchmark [against which] this vehicle wouldn’t satisfy them?

“Then again, those sort of driving dynamics have always been a demand of Europe and customers are flocking to it.

“The product’s good, so don’t think that’s the issue [for Australia]. Does it deliver brand values Renault is trying to communicate in the market? Not so much, no.

“[But] if the price is right there is always opportunity. Look at the equation. If you were to introduce the Duster to Australia it would more than likely be the most affordable compact SUV by a long shot.  It would probably fill the space the Suzuki Vitara used to fill.”

The Dacia Duster is 4316mm long, making it about the size of the Volkswagen Tiguan. The front-wheel-drive SUV is powered by a 1.6-litre engine. It costs £8995 (about $14,000) in the UK. The Tiguan, in contrast, costs from £20,615 (about $32,000).

Other models available include the Dacia Logan sedan, Dacia Sandero hatch and Dacia Sandero Stepway compact SUV (below). The two Sandero models were revealed in new-look form at the 2012 Paris motor show.

Some of the models run under the Renault badge in some markets such as India, and Renault Australia says that presents one of the conundrums if it were to introduce the vehicles here.

“That is the $1 million question [of whether to have the models under a Renault badge or not],” said Hocevar. “Do you introduce products into a brand where you’re setting up values for Australians to understand, or do you introduce a completely new brand and then you’ve got to worry about do you have a new dealer network or do you franchise it out with existing dealers?

“You’ve got to communicate the brand, and you’ve got to sell a certain number of cars before you can afford to put it on television, print or digital media.

“It’s not an easy one to answer [about bringing Dacia vehicles to Australia]. It’s on our radar. We haven’t said yes and we haven’t said no. And if it were ever to happen it would not be for the foreseeable future, because for now we’re just focusing on getting the Renault brand right in Australia.”


 

  • PIZZA

    Renault dont need to be worry …there are plenty James May type of people here in down under.

    • Zaccy16

      Hahaha! you’ve got a point there!

  • maaaatttt

    Renault doesn’t even have a name here, trying to dilute it further would be suicide. Honda does just fine without diluting its brand with the Acura marque here.

  • Legnab

    i can’t see this being a threat to VW

    • Zaccy16

      Me either, more a threat for hyundai!

  • Union

    Look at Great Wall et al. Dacia would sell in droves in Aus especially if undercutting the Chinese and Indian models. Suzuki, Honda and Nissan built themselves on cheap affordable cars. 

    • Captain Nemo®™

      The problem is Union,despite it being a budget brand if & when it arrives in AU. It would be most likely sold at a premium simply because of it’s European heritage.  Add an extra $5k to the UK price for Australia and you’re probably close.

  • 3D4

    “Renault’s budget brand Dacia” = budget’s brand budget brand.. Hahahhaha

  • Wile E Coyote

    Eastern block cars are rubbish
    Should change the name from duster to dumpster.

  • 3D4

    Apparently eatern block cars doing much better than for example Holden…

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Karl-Sass/100000921334936 Karl Sass

      The car COMPANIES are doing better, not the cars.

      • EUguest

        as much as I am not fan of GM, everything is better than Dacia brand, its so cheaply built and built with previous technology stuff that you would consider your money same as being thrown into sea

  • Daniel

    Does a country wil 21 million people really need another brand? Especially a brand that really has no point to it other than being cheap…

    • Loft86

      I agree with you there, the amount of brands we have now is ridiculous and I don’t see why, it’s not like we are a big market yet ever joe blow who builds cars once a piece of the pie here, haha.

  • Naimad77

    All this talk about brand values and positioning is all BS to keep the ponytailed marketing crowd in a job.

    Renault isn’t exactly Rolls Royce so whack on the Renault badges and put them in to the showrooms. I can’t see the Renault dealers with their own $$$ tied up in dealerships with many mouths to feed knocking back the opportunity for increased foot traffic and sales and service volumes these would bring with a Renault badge.

  • roy

    Anyway…

  • Able

    Renault Aus it’s not like your line-up is especially French in the first place, so I say brand Dacias as Renaults. Bring in the highest-spec models from Europe and price them well and I’d say you’d sell more than a few and certainly increase your market share. 

  • Vatabo

    I want the ugly Duster. Bring it here! Renault or Dachia – doesnt matter.

  • Aus_poppa

    The Dacia has been the success story of the French market. In August they were the 5th best selling brand, ahead of Toyota and Audi. In the best seller list of models the Duster isat No. 7, ahead of the VW Polo. In France quite a few are used by the police. 

    I believe that they sell on the basis that they are somewhat basic, but with pretty much all the equipment that most people need, and great value. At a guess if sold here they could make life tougher for the Chinese brands which will increasingly arrive over the next few years.

  • al

    yes bring it. And make a cheap ute, like Proton which now discontinued UNFORTUNATELY. Or the legendary Subaru Brumby or Mighty Boy. Make a small ute for 10 grand with single cab chassis.