PARIS – The die is cast: in March the dealership signs will change, and the new Dacia logo will be official: it’s time for the switch, for the Dacia 2.0. But it would be simplistic to call it an evolution because the Renault group brand changes its skin but not its DNA, which remains that of the best value for money. Which some call “low cost” but which in Paris they prefer to define as “best value”.
Whatever it is, new things will happen, and for the good. The sale of the new Jogger has begun these days, but new models such as Spring, the redesigned Duster and the future Bigster (but this is not necessarily the final name) will take the quality of the Dacia offer to another level. Because the new logo is not a mere restyling, but has a deeper meaning according to the thought of Luca De Meo, CEO of the Renault group: it represents the new desire for a minimalist, social, essential and environmentalist style.
A philosophy also espoused by Xavier Martinet, senior vice president of Dacia and Lada and head of Marketing, Sales and Operations. “So far, our success has only been based on two models. It was time to develop the brand: today with the Jogger, tomorrow with the Bigster ». The public bought Dacia thinking about the good deal, now the brand management wants us to think of it as a brand: “After 15 years of life, we want Dacia to be the brand with the best value for money, but redefining the essentials of ‘car”.
In Paris they calculated everything. The Jogger is the first step of the journey. «Yes, the Jogger is the most Dacia Dacia that has ever existed, virtuous in the way Dacia knows how to be. We are convinced that we have created a product that has no equal on the market and we wanted it to have a starting price of less than 15 thousand euros. We think we have succeeded ». But car prices will rise. “Not our fault, but because of the rules that are imposed on us. Euro 7 regulations are coming and some driver assistance devices will become mandatory from 2024, but we want Dacia to remain Dacia also in the future. Yes, it is true that prices will rise, but we will always remain lower than the others. We have developed all the skills to design cars around the essentials and we believe it is the right path for the future as well. Unfortunately it is necessary to put more and more things in the cars and someone who has to pay. Who? We, who have to reduce our margins, governments and also the customer, who must know why this happens ».
New Duster, here the record SUV changes. Starting with the price list: 12,950 euros
by Ilaria Salzano
Martinet’s position on the hybrid is also precise: «We asked ourselves a fundamentally economic and not technical question: is the customer ready to spend 3-4 thousand euros more in relation to the laws and limitations present in some European countries? We think that on Jogger it will be necessary and, when it will be necessary also for Sandero, we will do the same. For now we have LPG, which is much cheaper for the customer. And we will continue to invest in it as long as it makes sense ».
Finally, the style. «Which remains the main reason for purchasing, even for a Dacia. As cheap as a car can be, it still represents an emotion. A good design also doesn’t cost much more than a mediocre design. And we want to please our customers who are among the most loyal. But with a limited range we couldn’t do it anymore. With Spring and Jogger we plan to start finding new customers again, and Sandero is already recording great results ».
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