BUSINESS  | MARCH 16TH, 2014

Dacia prepares an automobile that will cost EUR 5,000

Dacia prepares a small model of automobile based on Renault Twingo that will sell at about EUR 5,000 in Western Europe, with Russia being a possible location for the manufacturing of the new car, the German magazine AutoBild reports. The new model, whose name has not been announced yet, will feature ABS, airbags and ESP (electronic control system) and could be made in Russia, where the partner company AvtoVAZ has sufficient production capacity available and wages are low, informs the magazine. The success of cheap Dacia cars attracted the interest of the rivals of French group Renault that control the Romanian automaker.
Sandero, at a starting price of EUR 6,900 is the cheapest new automobile currently available in Germany, according to AutoBild.

In its turn, Suzuki presented at the Geneva motor show its model Celerio, which could sell in Germany at EUR 6,000, while the group PSA Peugeot Citroen prepares its own cheap car and Nissan, the alliance partner of Renault, revived the Datsun brand. French and German media reported that Dacia plans to build a mini-automobile that will rival models like Fiat Panda and VW Up.

In 2010, Vincent Carre, then global marketing manager for Dacia with the Renault group, told AutoBild that Dacia was contemplating a small 4-seat automobile named Dacia City, at a price that should not have exceeded EUR 5,000. “We consider a 3.5-3.6 metres long model,” Carre said at that moment, for the German magazine. In 2013, Renault COO Carlos Tavares announced that Dacia will not enter the segment of mini automobiles and will focus on increasing the notoriety of the brand, thus rejecting the information made public by French and German media. Tavares will take over the office of Peugeot CEO starting March 31.

Source: http://www.nineoclock.ro/