Dacia Duster

Dacia will increase the Duster production in the next 6 months to face the strong demand coming from the Western European markets. The Mioveni factory that produces 20 Duster units per hour, will produce from January 35 Duster units per hour. The growth will take place gradually and starting from October, Dacia will produce 25 units of the Romanian SUV.

The main problem of the Romanian car manufacturer is now represented by the production capacity of the suppliers, who have been caught unprepared for the avalanche of orders from Western Europe and can not afford to suddenly increase the  production.

According to current data, the delivery of a Duster unit in Western Europe now reaches up to 6 months. The total orders for Duster gathered earlier this month to 35.500 units, of which 30.000 are from the Western Europe. In Romania, 1500 of the 3000 Duster commands have already been delivered.

Dacia customers in France can order the 4×2 version of Duster on bioethanol and two other new Euro 5 engines. The two engines are the 1.6 liter and 105 HP and the 1.5 liter dCi and 90 HP. The new unit can be powered both by petrol with an octane rating greater  or equal to 95 and or by bioethanol E85. The 90 HP diesel engine is equipped with a particulate filter and replaced the 85 HP version of Duster.

The 1.5 liter dCi and 90 HP of Duster emits just 130 grams of CO2 per km and has an average consumption of 5 liters per 100 km. The particulate filter of the engine regenerates automatically without the intervention of a mechanic. The 2WD  Ambiance version of Duster, powered by an dCi engine with 90 HP has a starting price of 14.700 euros in France, while the Prestige version equipped with this engine has a starting price of 16.700 euros.

The 1.6 liter version of Duster emits just 160 grams of CO2 per kilometer by bioethanol E85 and 165 grams CO2 per km on petrol. The unit is flexible and can operate with either E85 ethanol or petrol, without any difference in operation of the engine. The use of E85 fuel is extremely attractive in France as a liter of E85 costs in average 0.86 euros.

After the Italian and French customers have have filled the order lists for the Duster immediately after the launch, the Dutch also hurried to buy the Romanian SUV.

While, the initial estimates were that Dacia will sell 2.000 models in 2010, in the first month after the launch, Dacia Duster has already 1000 orders.  The Renault Netherlands marketing director says that the main argument of the Duster success is the price of the SUV and that it is also a city model.

Dacia has many fans in Netherlands, and they write about the Romanian car manufacturer models on many sites and portals or talk about them on their special meetings (in one of these events Renault Netherlands launched the Dacia Sandero).

James May, one of the presenters of the famous British show Top Gear, praised again the Dacia cars in his weekly editorial in the Telegraph newspaper. This time, James May praised the new Dacia Duster, after a few months ago praised the Dacia Sandero. As expected, May appreciated the simplicity of the Romanian SUV and stated that the Duster does not give the sensation of a car built in a country not used to build vehicles for customers who have never had a car so far.

Dacia Duster will be launched in the UK market in 2012 with a starting price of 11.000 pounds according to first estimates. James May noted that you can not buy a Ford Fiesta with a low level of equipment for this sum and the difference of space between the two models is enormous. The Duster’s trunk space offered was also praised along with the five seats available.

"Finally the Duster is made by Renault, has proper engines and drives properly" said James May.

The new Duster could be sold under the Nissan logo in some countries in which Renault and Dacia don’t activate. According to the British of Autocar, Duster will receive not only the Renault logo but also the Nissan logo in some markets that neither Dacia  or Renault activate at this time.

"In markets where Renault and Nissan is are not present, it is possible for Duster to get the Nissan logo. This will happen but only in circumstances where there is a fair production capacity of sub-assemblies," said a Nissan official quoted Autocar. This could mean that Duster could be launched in the U.S. market, where the Renault-Nissan group activates exclusively under the Japanese brand.
It wouldn’t be the first time that Nissan would sell Dacia models under it’s logo. The best known example is Nissan Aprio, the  model sold in Mexico, which is actually a Logan with a Nissan logo.

After 10.000 orders in one month after the launch in France Dacia Duster has also a promising degut in Italy.

According to the Italian press, the first Romanian SUV gathered 1.800 orders within seven days after the official launch, 600 of which were made in the very first weekend the Duster  was presented in Italy.

In the debut weekend, Dacia showrooms received 33.000 visitors, 4300 of them making a first test drive with Duster. An analysis of the orders show that most Italians have chosen the Laureate top version of Duster and 63% of the customers preferred the diesel version of the Romanian SUV. A very interesting thing is that only 30% of the Italian clients chose the 4 x 4 version of Duster.

The 10.000 orders only in April in France and the total 20.000 orders in this country have not gone unnoticed. Carlos Ghosn, newly reelected president of Renault-Nissan alliance, said the success of the Romanian SUV is identical to that obtained by Renault Scenic 2 at its launch in 2003.

"I have never seen so many people in showrooms since the launce of Renault  Scenic 2", are the words of Carlos Ghosn, the Brazilian known for that is reluctant to praise one model or another until it is truly convince of its market value.

"When we announced the Duster’s price at the Geneva Motor Show, the journalists present there thought we were wrong. We were wright and in April we have already 10.000 orders for the Duster. Dacia will shake the 4×4 market", said Ghosn.

Dacia Duster was rigorous tested by the french journalists in Morocco. The first who published the test drive results was the french site www.autonews.fr, who made a material about Dacia Duster on the roads and sands of Marrakech.

The French journalists that tested Duster said that the car addresses to the vas majority and not to those who want a model close to the luxury segment. They also stated that there is no car on the market so cheap and that can provide what the Romanian Duster can. To prove that, in only 15 days Duster has received no less than 5.000 orders in France.

The French journalists recommend Dacia despite the "small imperfections" found on all low cost models. They also say that Duster offers an "outstanding comfort for all passengers and a good driving position for the driver".

The French journalists said that Morocco will become "the second home for Duster", since the production will reach 400.000 units per year, slightly more than the Mioveni factory where the production will reach 350.000 units per year. Currently, the Casablanca factory produces 70.000 units but in 2012 will be available the new factory in Tanger.

In Russia the Duster production capacity will be 60.000 units per year as in Brazil, while in Colombia and India the production capacity will be of 20.000 units per year and 30.000 units per year.

Dacia was ranked first in the European Union according to the rate of increase in the new car registration in March, by 61% compared to the same period last year.

Dacia started sending Duster units for the foreign dealers to cope for the first application of the first Romanian SUV. Dacia sends out between 150 and 300 cars every day, most of which are represented by Duster models. In addition, to prepare for the international release, each Dacia dealer will have at least one Duster model for testing.

"Shipments are now only for export. We are sending out daily between 150 and 300 cars, most of them being Duster models," said Dacia officials.

Dacia has over 1.600 sales points in Europe most of them represented by Dacia brand areas in the Renault showrooms. In France, one of the largest markets for Dacia, are over 100 independent dealers, one of them with a showroom on the Cote d’Azur, in a select area.

The production of Duster in now up up 250 units per day, representing 20% of the total production of the Mioveni factory.

Dacia launched in Romania the new Duster, the first SUV in the history of the group, just two weeks after its official debut in the Geneva Motor Show. During the event held in Bucharest, Fabrice Cambolive, the commercial director of Dacia, said that the Romanian model has aroused a particular interest among the local public.

The orders for the new Duster exploded but the surprise for the Dacia officials was the large number of Romanians that chose the higher level of equipment. According to Cambolive, 80% of the clients who ordered Dacia Duster opted for the top version Laureate, at a price around 15.000 euros.

Fabrice Cambolive also said that half of the clients who ordered Duster opted for the 4×4 version, 20% opted for the optional package that includes leather and 40% opted for the brown nut color.