Dacia sizing up Australia: New budget brand around the corner

Australians could soon have a choice of a new and relatively unknown budget brand – Dacia, the low-cost offshoot of French giant Renault – initially with a small car and an SUV. 

At this early stage it is unclear whether the vehicles will be sold through a dealer network or sold online at fixed prices.

There is also a chance the vehicles could be sold under the Dacia or the Renault brand.

In other right-hand-drive markets such as New Zealand and South Africa, Dacia cars are rebadged as Renaults, however CarAdvice believes the intention is to use the Dacia name in Australia.

While there is an intention to sell the Romanian-built cars here from as early as next year, CarAdvice understands pricing and the model line-up are yet to be confirmed before any agreement is signed – and no Dacia vehicles have yet been through the Australian certification process, according to a search of the Federal regulator’s website.

Independent importer Ateco – which recently took over distribution of Renault in Australia – has been linked to the Dacia deal.

CarAdvice understands the Renault deal came about after Ateco approached the French car giant more than a year ago about distributing Dacia locally.

The boss of Ateco, Neville Crichton, was quoted by carsales.com.au as saying: “We will be bringing Dacia in. We are talking to them right now about the details.” 

When CarAdvice asked for a comment, a representative for Ateco said: “We talk to many franchises (car companies) about opportunities, but there is no comment on this particular topic.”

The Dacia cars that could make their way to Australia have recently been refreshed.

However, Dacia is able to keep prices low because it does not engineer its vehicles to score a five-star safety rating, and most models lack advanced safety aids.

As with vehicles from other emerging manufacturers, Dacia cars would likely pass local safety regulations.

However, the threshold for eligibility for road use of motor vehicles in Australia is lower than the standards imposed by the independent safety body, the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP).

The newly released 2021 Dacia Sandero Stepway hatchback SUV and the Dacia Logan sedan both have two-star safety ratings (out of a possible five stars) according to the latest European NCAP crash test standards.

And the Dacia Duster has a three-star safety rating from 2017, when the requirements for a five-star score were less stringent than they are today.

The vehicles will, however, likely pass local regulations due to the lower safety threshold set by Federal regulators.

Chinese brands LDV, Great Wall and MG have introduced cars that have previously scored one, two, or three stars in European or Australasian NCAP assessments.

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