2009 was the year of Dacia. After a hard beginning, marked by activity interruptions and a declining output, the company ended the year with more than 300,000 cars sold on global markets, 20.5 pc higher than a year ago, of which 87 pc went to export, especially in Western Europe and Algeria, the company announced yesterday.

On the domestic market, however, things are completely different, as sales collapsed by over 50 pc, to 41,862 vehicles, which still earned Dacia a slight improvement in terms of market share.

“Dacia thus ends the fifth consecutive year with two-digit sale increases, which allowed it to jump from less than 100,000 cars sold in 2004 to more than 300,000 units in 2009,” the company writes in a press release. Last year’s strong increase of sales was mainly fueled by the success scored in Western Europe, where the Romanian manufacturer sold over 200,000 automobiles. “On a car market that decreased by 53.2 pc, Dacia sold 41,862 more vehicles and secured a market share of 28.9 pc, 1.5 percent points higher than the previous year,” Dacia’s Commercial Manager Fabrice Cambolive told a conference when the company presented its results for last year. Referring to exports, Cambolive said these accounted for 85 pc of global sales, but in 2010 the ratio might change as a consequence of some Western countries mothballing their car fleet renewal programs.

Dacia’s exports neared 270,000 units, 56.1 pc over the 173,000 cars sold abroad in 2008, when the commercial results of the company included the Logan models produced in Morocco. Last year, Germany became the main export destination for Dacia, with 84,708 sold units, up 231.3 pc from 2008, due to the car fleet renewal program financed by the German government, which translated into a significant discount for the models offered by the Romanian producer. The second-largest export market was France, with 65,956 units (up 51.4 pc), followed by Italy with 21,739 cars (up 151.9 pc from 2008’s level). In 2009, Dacia had a market share of 2.13 pc in Germany, 2.5 pc in France and 0.93 pc in Italy. Other important export destinations are Algeria (17,327 units), Turkey (9,727 units) and Spain (9,030 units). In Morocco, where Logan is manufactured at the SOMACA plant in Casablanca, the company sold 18,112 units last year. According to Cambolive, the biggest European markets ranged the Dacia models in top positions of classifications based on reliability. Referring to foreign markets, Cambolive said Dacia might also enter the market of the United Kingdom in 2010. For 2010, Dacia aims to preserve its market share and expects a sales volume similar to 2009. While Dacia’s sales registered significant results, those of the mother-group Renault lost 3.1 pc last year on global markets (down to 2.309 million vehicles) but the French auto-maker improved its market share by 0.1 percent points, to 3.7 pc.

Logan sedan, the best sold model in Romania

Logan sedan was the brand’s best sold model in Romania, with 25,722 units, followed by Sandero (Stepway version included) with 6,765 units, and Logan MCV with 6,249 units. On the market of utility vehicles, Dacia delivered in Romania 1,588 units of Logan Van and 1,538 Logan Pick Up. The company sold 18,000 automobiles through the car fleet renewal program.

Two new models on the pipeline

Automobile Dacia contemplates the development and production of two new models, but it is too early to give any detail, Commercial Manager Fabrice Cambolive announced. According to the same source, if the special and limited series of Logan, Sandero and Logan MCV, named Black Line, recently launched in France, has success, these models might also be sold in Romania. For 2010, the carmaker envisages a number of own offers based on financing, but it is waiting for the start of the ‘Wreck’ program before making them public, Cambolive said.

PM Tariceanu: once Dacia-Renault reaches an annual production of one million vehicles, Romania will be the country with the largest production when it comes to vehicle manufacturing in South-East Europe

The French Group has inaugurated in Bucharest a design centre for the Renault and Dacia brands, the sixth centre of its kind for the French producer, with the first vehicles designed in Romania set to be launched in 2011, Rompres informs.

According to Patrick le Quement, by locating the design centres in several areas of the world, the company takes over the ‘local tendencies’ when it comes to design. The French Group has announced at the end of 2006 that it will bring to Romania the entire car manufacturing process, including the research and design part. The research will take place within a centre in Titu locality, Dambovita County, the investment being estimated at EUR 450 M. The centre will include a test track for multi-brand vehicles, a car engineering department, a centre for mechanical testing and information technology, accounting and client monitoring departments. The centre will be inaugurated this autumn.

Two weeks ago, the French Group opened a car gear box plant in Mioveni, a plant for which it initially earmarked EUR 146 M. The French producer has invested more than EUR 1.2 bln in Romania from the moment it took over Dacia and up to last year, with EUR 600 M set to be added to that sum in the following three years. For that Renault has used the cheap labour force in Romania at its fullest. An even more important factor was localizing the plants as close to the sale markets as possible in order to reduce as much as possible the distribution and delivery costs.

‘The Economist’ praises Logan’s performances. Thus, in an article entitled ‘The logic of the Logan’, the British journalists comment on the surprising success that the vehicle produced by Dacia under Renault’s management has registered on Western European markets, the Money Channel informs. ‘The Economist’ also writes that the company’s profit margin for the Logan brand surpasses 6 per cent, twice larger than the rest of the vehicle brands produced by Renault.

According to Gerard Detourbet, the head of the Logan project, quoted by ‘The Economist’, the success came at a time when the buyers have started to be more indifferent to the product’s country of origin. In the European Union and northern Africa the car was listed as a Romanian Dacia sold by Renault dealers. The Renault representative points out that most of the French clients know that the model is produced in Romania but their decision to buy it takes into account its price. In France, the second-hand vehicles’ market is the most important competitor for Logan, ‘The Economist’ goes on to say.

‘Once the production parameters that Renault has set for itself, namely close to one million units per year, have been attained, we will be the country with the largest production in South-East Europe when it comes to vehicle manufacturing. Once Ford comes in we will end up being the most important producer country in Central and South-East Europe’ Tariceanu has stated Friday during the inauguration of the design centre in Bucharest, the Money Channel informs. The Prime Minister has stated that if in the case of Renault availability has existed, in the case of PSA Peugeot Citroen auto Group the answer has been ‘overall negative’.

Dacia Logan SUV, a vehicle with a very good technical system

Dacia Logan SUV will look very good and will have all of the top technical characteristics, Patrick le Quement, industrial design director within Renault, has stated recently, Rompres informs. The Dacia SUV series model will most likely be launched at the end of 2009 and will be the sixth model in the Logan series, after Logan Sedan, Logan MCV, Logan Van, Logan Pick-Up and Sandero, the latter set to be launched in Romania on June 3.

The Renault representative has stated that the technical platform on which the Logan models are developed is very flexible and offers a lot of expansion opportunities towards most of the vehicle classes demanded on the market.

In what concerns the new Sandero model, Patrick le Quement has stated that this is a hatchback model characterized by durability, but not as sophisticated as Renault Clio III, although there could be a slight ‘cannibalizing’ of sales as happened previously on emerging markets in the case of Dacia Logan and Renault Clio Symbol.

Logan pickup, the first model to be created in Romania

The first Renault prototype to be created and developed entirely in Romania, presented at the opening of the Renault Design Centre in Bucharest, is an improved Logan Pickup that reminds the Dacia Pickup with the special bodywork, Rompres informs. “Romanians are highly attached to the Pickup, and this model enjoys a great popularity all over the world, therefore it was adequate for an initial concept,” Patrick le Quement said. He mentioned that the project of the group of products that will replace the current Logan offer is already initiated. Institutions working for this project include not only the Design Centre in Bucharest, but also Technocentre Renault and the Design Centres in Brazil and Italy.

by Monica Apostol

Dacia was in 2007 the brand with the biggest rate of growth of the sales in Europe, with an advance of 85.9 per cent against 2006, as a result of the significant demand for the model Logan, according to a survey made by the British car market research company Jato Dynamics, informs ‘Business Standard.’ The survey was made in 27 European countries, which do not include Bulgaria and Romania. The number of registrations of Dacia cars increased in Western Europe by 96 per cent, to 68,815 units, from 35,101 units a year before. The market share held by Dacia in the region progressed to 0.5 per cent, from 0.2 per cent in 2006. The best sold brand at European level was Volkswagen, with 1.6 million units, followed by Opel/Vauxhall with 1.32 million units, and Ford with 1.28 million traded cars. On the following positions were Renault with 1.17 million cars traded, but 9.3 per cent less than in 2006, and Peugeot with 1.09 million units, 1.4 per cent less. Fiat, Citroen, Toyota, Mercedes and BMW rank in order in the top ten brands with the biggest success in the European market. Of the aforementioned, Fiat had the quickest advance of the sales, with 7.7 per cent, further to the launching of some new models, such as Bravo, 500, Sedici, Linea and Scudo.

The opening of the Renault Design Centre at Titu and the privatisation of the Daewoo automobile factory of Craiova might turn the automotive industry into one of the most powerful engines for the development of the Romanian industry, Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu told a ceremony on March 19 where the Renault Design Centre was presented.

Tariceanu said that projects such as the one initiated by Renault, initially launched in 1997 and now starting to materialise, contribute to boosting the talents and intelligence of the younger generation, and in today’s world human resources are the most important capital of a country. He mentioned that the output of Dacia Renault Pitesti factory is expected to reach 1 million units in 2008. Out of the total output, 350,000 automobiles will be built on the Logan platform and 650,000 will be Renault models to be exported to India, Iran, Tunisia, Morocco and Colombia. Tariceanu also said that Renault will open a factory for gear boxes in 2008 in Romania.

These projects, he added, entail employing some 100,000 people and the development of other industries, such as the spare parts industry and the distribution business. A local automobile making market contributes to the renewal of the car fleet, said Tariceanu, mentioning that his Cabinet extended for the third consecutive year the award of bonuses for used car discarding, and that it will not give up on the first-registration tax.

Tariceanu said the Renault Centre at Titu will employ over 3,000 specialists and voiced hope that this will contribute to stimulating design concerns with other market suppliers.

He also voiced ambition to turn the automotive industry into a principal component of the Romanian economy, saying he hopes the privatisation of Daewoo Craiova will materialise, given that the bidders are General Motors and Ford.

“If we manage to make this second project come true, I can guarantee that Romania will indeed become a force to reckon with in this area,” said Tariceanu, adding that the automotive industry will offer Romania the foundations for a high and sustainable economic growth in the years to come.

He pointed out that Romania should distinguish itself by its capability of promoting such projects of national interest, voicing once again his wish to continue his support as a prime minister to the development of Romania’s automotive industry.

Agentia de presa: Rompres