Sursa foto: Dacia
Romanian carmaker Dacia, controlled by French Renault, saw a 3.1% year-on-year increase in total sales in 2021 to 537,095 units amid a stable market, but heavily affected by the health and electronic components crises. In its sales perimeter, Dacia increased its market share by 0.1 percentage points to 3.5%.
The increase in sales is mainly due to the success of the new Dacia range among private customers. In 2021 Dacia achieved a record 6.2% market share in Europe in the segment of sales to private customers, becoming for the first time the third best-selling brand among this audience.
Outside Romania, Dacia is the best-selling brand to private customers in France and ranks in the Top5 in 9 other European countries (Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Austria, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Croatia). In Germany, the brand is in the Top10. Dacia is also the market leader in Morocco.
This performance is underpinned by the success of the Sandero and Duster models.
Dacia Sandero recorded sales of 226,805 units, of which almost 90% were the third generation. In 2021, for the fifth consecutive year, Sandero was the best-selling model in Europe to private customers. In some countries, Sandero was even the best-selling model to all customer categories. Under these circumstances, the Sandero came in second place at the end of the year in the ranking of the best-selling models in Europe, as Economedia already wrote on 4 January.
The same trend was true for the Dacia Duster, which has been Europe’s best-selling SUV to private customers since 2018. With 186,001 units sold in 2021 in all markets, the Duster has surpassed two million units sold since its launch in 2010.
Launched last spring, the electric model, produced in China, Dacia Spring has made a remarkable entry into the 100% electric vehicle market with 27,876 units sold and more than 46,000 orders by the end of 2021. Designed to democratize access to electric mobility for everyday commuting, the Spring is emerging as a benchmark urban car in many markets. Remarkably, 80% of those who have purchased a Spring vehicle were not previously Dacia customers.
Favorite trims
Designed to meet customer expectations, the Dacia range is attracting increasing interest in its best-equipped versions. In Europe, 90% of Dacia Spring customers opted for the Comfort Plus trim level. At the same time, the Stepway version accounts for 70% of Sandero sales, while 60% of Duster customers preferred the Prestige version.
The growing customer preference for top-of-the-range versions is accompanied by another relevant phenomenon: Dacia is winning over customers who had not previously purchased a Renault group vehicle, with the percentage of these new customers, or ‘win rate’, at 60%.
On the other hand, when they decide to replace their car with a new one, 75% of Dacia customers remain loyal to the brand.
In 2022, the Jogger will join the range of models sold by Dacia. The new family vehicle with up to 7 seats has been designed to meet the comfort, space and modularity needs of a wide range of customers.
Implementation of the strategic plan announced last year will continue with the gradual introduction of the new brand identity, both in the sales network (from the first half of the year) and on the model range (in the latter part of the year).
Sales by model 2021 537,095
Dacia Sandero 226,825
Dacia Duster 186,001
Dacia Spring 27,876
Dacia Logan 27,136
Dacia Lodgy 24,526
Dacia Dokker 44,684
Other 47
“Dacia is now a real growth driver for the Renault Group. 60% of Dacia vehicle buyers come from outside the group, while 75% of Dacia owners remain loyal to the brand when they buy a new car instead of their old one,” says Denis Le Vot, Managing Director of the Dacia & Lada brands. “This offensive is being carried out in particular thanks to the models’ superior equipment versions. Increasing sales and market share confirm that Dacia is attracting an ever wider range of customers. In 2022, Dacia is opening a new chapter in its history. The implementation of our strategic plan materializes mainly through the commercial launch of the Jogger model and the introduction of the New Brand Identity.”
Romanian Market
In Romania, Dacia sold 38,120 vehicles in 2021. Dacia models feature in four of the top five positions in the top five best-selling vehicles on the local market.
Beyond the constant success of the Logan (13,482 units), Duster (9,045 units) and Sandero (8,227 units) models, which top the sales rankings every year, it is worth highlighting the performance of the Spring model, which came in fifth place in the best-selling cars in Romania.
In just three months since the start of deliveries to customers, 3,068 units have been registered, which represents almost 48% of the total sales of electric vehicles on the Romanian market in 2021.