Potential of great news for Dacia

ROMANIAN car-maker and Renault subsidiary Dacia is still on the wish list of Australian importer Ateco, which says all it would take for the European value brand to come here is for head office to say, ‘let’s go’.

Speaking to local media last week in Sydney, Renault Australia boss Glen Sealey said the Bigster and Duster SUVs from Dacia’s portfolio hold the most promise for Australia.

The Dacia Duster is an existing compact SUV available in Europe in front- and all-wheel drive formats. First launched in 2010, the Duster has been built in right-hand drive for the UK market since 2013 and is due for replacement with an new-generation model in 2025.

Meanwhile the Bigster is a larger, all-new seven-seat large SUV that has appeared in concept form only so far and is, like the new Duster, expected to be revealed in production form in 2025.

Mr Sealey indicated that these new models are the best chance for the local importer to bring Dacia to Australia.

While all signs are so far positive for these to arrive as the Dacia spearhead in Australia, Mr Sealey cautioned that “there's no guarantees with Renault”.

“But those two cars are what we are studying, working on,” he added.

Asked what Renault Australia is waiting for, Mr Sealey responded: “For them to say, ‘let’s go’. They’ve given positive indications, but you never know until there’s cars on the boat coming here.”

Dacia was founded in 1966 and has had an association with Renault from the beginning. 

It used the tooling of models from the French manufacturer, starting with the rear-engined Renault 8 and then for a long period from the 1960s to the early 2000s the Renault 12.

The Dacia 1310-badged 12 was manufactured in Romania and sold initially in Eastern European countries. The company was bought by Renault in 1999, and now comprises the Spring city car, Sandero small car, Jogger people mover and Duster SUV.