Dacia has said that it is the European car maker best placed to meet the threat from an influx of affordable Chinese models in the coming years.
Xavier Martinet, the company's vice president for marketing, sales and operations, made the claim during a press conference to announce Dacia's 2023 sales results: "We know that the Chinese are coming, and they're coming with aggressive prices. So yes, I'm worried, but should I be worried, or should Dacia be more worried than other mainstream brands in Europe? I'm not so sure. I think Dacia might be one of the best-placed brands, actually," said Martinet.
Retail sales to private customers
Certainly, Dacia's performance in 2023 was enviable, growing its sales by 17.3 per cent in a European market that rose by 13.9 per cent. Dacia claims that it is one of the best-selling marques when it comes to private retail sales, which is individual people handing over their hard-earned money, rather than including sales (usually heavily discounted) to fleet operators. It's a metric that Dacia likes to use, not least because it looks better on charts than total sales relative to larger competitors, but equally it is a useful measure of which cars people really buy when it's their own money on the line.
Indeed, Dacia claims that the Sandero hatchback and the Sandero Stepway were the best-selling cars of all in Europe last year when it comes to private retail customers, finding 269,899 homes during 2023. That's a massive 17.6 per cent growth in sales of those models.
The Duster crossover, in spite of being in a run-out year ahead of the arrival of the all-new Duster in a couple of months, also grew its sales by 1.7 per cent to 200,633. According to Dacia, that puts it in the top three SUV sales to retail customers.
Meanwhile, the Jogger MPV chalked up 94,095 sales, a 65 per cent rise compared to 2022.
All-electric Spring
Finally, there was the Dacia Spring, the compact electric car with a 230km range, which found 61,803 homes in 2023. That's a 26.4 per cent rise compared to 2022, but Martinet warned that Spring sales may not increase as much in 2024. In spite of the fact that the Spring will be updated and launched in right-hand drive for the first time, it's made in China so it won't qualify for the French government EV purchase incentives in 2024, which is expected to hit sales.
Martinet poured cold water on any hopes of Spring production moving to Europe: "We'll continue investing in the Spring, but for the moment we don't plan on relocating to Europe."
Martinet also said that the sudden and unannounced withdrawal of EV subsidies in Germany late last year was "brutal" and that it was likely to also significantly impact sales of the Spring once the current, heavily discounted stock of cars in Germany had been sold. "This kind of action affects lower-priced cars so much more than more expensive models with big price tags," said Martinet, in a clear shot across European lawmakers' bows when it comes to EV purchasing supports.
"Our results clearly show that there's a demand for such a car, an EV with a price below €25,000 or even €20,000 and now we see that other car makers are starting to introduce these models too. I don't want to focus on the Renault 5 EV - let's see what the price is when it's actually launched, but clearly, we will have to up our game and continue to ensure that the Spring remains the best-value proposition in the EV market," said Martinet.
Hybrid Sandero?
Martinet equally doused hopes that there might be a hybrid-engined version of the Sandero, at least in the short term. "We can make it, because that platform allows for hybrid or even plug-in hybrid," he said. "But I'm not sure that Sandero customers want to invest the extra couple of thousand Euro in a hybrid system, so for the moment there will not be a Sandero Hybrid. That's the right answer today. In a year's time, or in five years' time, maybe it will be different."
Alongside the right-hand-drive Spring, Dacia will launch two other new models this year. The first, and probably the most important, is the new Duster, which will be a more sophisticated model than the current car. Martinet defended the move upmarket, saying: "We've had more people raising their hand for a new Duster in one month than the previous model would have sold in three months, so we're very happy with the position. It's not just about price, it's also about the value that the car offers. It's a more advanced car."
Dacia will also launch its larger Bigster SUV, which will, for the first time, take it toe-to-toe with big-selling cars such as the Nissan Qashqai and Hyundai Tucson. Dacia isn't leaving its older models behind, either. In France, it has just launched a new warranty programme which allows owners of cars up to six years old to get an extra year's warranty if they get their Dacia serviced at a main dealer. The new 'Dacia Zen' warranty can last for a maximum of seven years, renewed each year, or up to 150,000km. It's expected to be rolled out to other European markets in due course.