FEATURE

Dacia outlines vision for the future

*New Manifesto Concept revealed

In an era of inflationary times, rising costs of fuel and energy, and a growing awareness of the impact of consumerism on our planet, is the time right for a reassessment of what we need from our cars? Dacia has long had a reputation of value for money, a more for less philosophy that has seen it sell more than 7.5 million cars in just 18 years. At a special event in Paris, the Renault Group owned brand outlined its vision of its future, one which will see the brand strengthen its value for money reputation through three values that will guide the brand’s future products, namely ‘Essential and Cool’, ‘Robust and Built for Outdoor Adventure’, and ‘Eco-Smart’.

“Dacia has long been referred to as low cost. It’s a term that I have never liked,” said Denis Le Vot, CEO of Dacia (Pictured right). “Dacia has now become the Best Value for Money Brand. It builds cars that serve the purpose they were designed for, no more, no less,” he said. “Dacia builds cars for customers who in today’s world want what has possibly become most precious - essentials. Essentials is Dacia’s DNA. The idea is that not all customers want a car that is more powerful with more equipment, with more electronics and all at a higher price. Do we really need the superfluous? Dacia’s answer is no. Do we really need the essentials? Dacia’s answer is, obviously, yes. A car that is rationale as it is appealing. A car that runs on LPG at 90c with diesel costing €2. A car that does not need three screens when all that you need is a smartphone to act as a GPS. That is Dacia - the essentials and no compromise. Design for no extra cost.”

The first of Dacia’s three values that will guide the brand’s action and product design over the coming years is ‘Essential And Cool’. It’s a philosophy of having simple but clever effective solutions such as that mentioned by Denis and already seen on the Sandero of using a smartphone as the car’s infotainment interface. Another example is the modular roof rack system on the Jogger where the longitudinal roof rails can be transformed into cross bars.

To highlight the second value - Robust and Built for Outdoor Adventure, Dacia points out the length of time owners keep their vehicles - 8 years on average in France - plus the higher than average residual values. An increasing number of models will be available with all-wheel drive systems while the company revealed a removable kit for the Jogger available from next year that will convert it into a small camper - complete with double bed!

Meeting the challenge of the third value, ‘Eco-Smart: Economical and Ecological’ will see Dacia prioritise the use of recycled plastics. Already 12% of plastics on the Duster are recycled, a figure higher than the average for new cars, but for the next generation model due in a couple of years’ time, Dacia is targeting achieving a goal of 20% recyclable plastics. The company has patented an environmentally friendly recycled plastic compound called Starkle , is an environmentally friendly, robust, elegant recycled plastic compound. Manifesto Concept - a new concept vehicle which will be shown at the Paris Motor Show in October. The doorless, windowless vehicle with solid rubber tyres isn’t the precursor of a future production car, rather Dacia sees it as a lab for ideas that will eventually be

included in future models.

Features include a work surface instead of a tailgate, a detachable single headlight that can be used as a powerful torchlight, and YouClip, a simple system to secure a variety of accessories that Dacia confirms will be built into future models. Fitted with natural materials such as the cork covering the dashboard, the interior can be jet washed clean while the removable seat coverings can be used as sleeping bags.

With regards to forthcoming models, a plug-in hybrid version of the Duster is due next year, while Dacia Ireland expects to see the arrival of a face-lifted version of the Spring - an all-electric compact crossover by Q1 2024. A production version of the mid-sized SUV Bigster Concept should follow by Q2 2024.