Posted Apr 22, 2022, 7:44 AM
Weakened both by the war in Ukraine, which forced him to get out of the Russian market , and by the production difficulties which are eroding sales in Europe , the Renault group can happily rely on Dacia. After an excellent 2021 vintage, the sales figures for the first quarter, made public on Friday, confirm the upward trajectory of the low-cost car brand.
It registered 128,000 vehicles worldwide from January to March (including 105,000 in Europe), an increase of 5.8% compared to the same period in 2021. A fine performance, at a time when Renault is seeing its sales ( including utilities) plunge 19.7%, like most of its competitors.
La Spring in front of the ZOE in France
Dacia is proud, among other things, of the good results of its Spring , with 9,029 registrations in three months, all in Europe. It is the second best-selling model in France in the 100% electric segment, behind Tesla’s Model 3 but ahead of Renault’s ZOE.
Another satisfaction, the successful launch of the jogger : the 7-seater family crossover (from 15,500 euros) has 4,000 registrations worldwide for the month of March alone. According to management, 36,000 orders have already been registered, with more than two-thirds of the cases having higher levels of finish.
But the sales engine remains the Sandero, with 52,772 registrations worldwide in three months among private customers, slightly more than the Clio 5 (51,1165). The Duster SUV is not far behind with 45,885 copies sold in the first quarter.
A few days ago, on the sidelines of the award for Man of the Year by “Le Journal de l’Automobile”, the group’s general manager, Luca de Meo, had praised Dacia: “We never showed Dacia’s figures… Because we were ashamed of Renault’s results! The margins are in double digits. It’s a unique business model, and one that’s hard to copy. I tried to create an anti-Dacia in my past (professional) life, I couldn’t. Renault’s new strongman must now let him continue to thrive.