Dacia, since it was entirely re-invented by Renault in 2004, has notched up eight million sales in just 18 years. That's not counting all of the Communist-era cars that it made (mostly Renault 12 knockoffs) nor the cars made between 1990 and the Renault buy-out of the firm in 1999. Nor the cars built between 1999 and 2004. Look, Dacia has sold a lot of cars is what we're saying.
Expanded beyond Romania
The year 2004 is significant, because that was the year that Renault's ownership first started to show its green shoots, and because that was the first year that Dacia started to spread beyond its home market of Romania (aside from a few cars sold in Poland during the aforementioned Communist era).
That was also the year that saw the launch of the Dacia Logan, the car that set the template for the modern era of Dacia, with its simple styling, no-nonsense practicality and clever use of older Renault engines and components.
Since then, sales have boomed. The Logan, over a couple of generations, sold 1.97 million units, getting 'new' Dacia off to a flying start. Its follow-up, the Sandero, has been even more successful - 2.78 million sales and counting, putting it just ahead of the hugely popular Duster SUV with 2.26 million sales. Some 630,000 Dokker MPVs (never came here, looked slightly odd but was massive inside) were sold, 346,000 Lodgys (ditto), 80,000 Joggers (impressive, since it was only launched last year) and 107,000 'others' which apparently includes the Solenza (sort of a half-way house between an old-school Dacia and a Logan. You still see a few being used as taxis in Bucharest).
Sold in 44 countries
Dacia is now sold in 44 countries around the world, and although it's - unsurprisingly - still a big seller at home in Romania, France is actually its no.1 market, closely followed by Italy. Ireland is playing a hefty part in Dacia's success, too. A significant 35,000 Dacias have been sold here since the brand was launched in 2014, and 2023 is already its best year here yet - sales are up by 42 per cent year-on-year and Dacia is the eighth-best-selling brand in Ireland, beating such luminaries of the motor industry as Nissan, BMW, and even Renault itself.
Currently, Dacia holds an impressive 7.6 per cent market share of the entire European car market, and it's the best-selling brand when it comes to private customers - everyone else relies on discounted fleet sales to bump up their numbers. Last year, for the sixth consecutive year (since 2017), the Dacia Sandero was the most sold car in the European retail market. The Duster ranked second in 2022 and has also been the best-selling SUV to retail customers since 2018 according to Dacia.
Spring EV and new Duster
It's not stopping there, either. The upgraded Spring electric hatchback will be coming in right-hand drive shortly (and Dacia claims it's the car putting rural buyers on electric wheels - 50 per cent of its buyers live outside cities) and there's a new Duster on the way too, which will be shown off before the end of this year and go on sale in 2024. A larger SUV will join it - called the 'Bigster' - late next year.