Dacia is popping good value, but excellent quality, champagne as it begins celebrations for its 10-year anniversary since its official launch in the UK in 2013. The brand is marking a decade of redefining the essentials and providing the nation’s drivers with an unprecedented blend of value and quality.
When Dacia launched, David Cameron was the UK’s Prime Minister and the last word in tech was the release of the Apple iPhone 5S and 5C. 2013 would also be memorable for the birth of Prince George of Wales and Sir Alex Ferguson retiring as Manager of Manchester United.
To tease its arrival in the UK, Dacia used the 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed to unveil the now iconic Duster ahead of official arrivals the following year. Soon after the event, Dacia opened online pre-orders which saw 2,000 consumers invest in a brand that was new on the scene. Later the same year, ahead of January 2013 registrations, pre-orders also opened for the Dacia Sandero.
A trailblazer at the time, and now a mainstream volume brand, Dacia launched at a perfect time.
Coming out of a five-year recession, the UK’s new car buyers had a refreshed appetite. 2013 would see passenger vehicle registrations increase by nearly 11% to 2,264,737 cars – the highest level in five years – resulting in the UK being the only growing car market in Europe. The market was still cautious from the turbulent last few years, but Dacia gave consumers the perfect solution, offering ‘shockingly affordable’, well-built vehicles that provided everything drivers needed and nothing they didn’t.
The famed Sandero supermini and Sandero Stepway soon complemented the Duster and a decade later the trio have left a lasting impression. The models continue to feature in the Dacia range with thousands of sales and numerous industry awards confirming their popularity and appeal. Over the last decade, Dacia has won an astounding number of accolades, with highlights including several wins at the What Car? Car of the Year Awards, Auto Express New Car Awards and Auto Trader New Car Awards.
To date, Dacia has sold 240,010 vehicles in the UK, with Duster, the most popular, recording 88,488 sales. Further underlining UK drivers’ fondness for ruggedly styled vehicles, the Sandero Stepway crossover has notched up 71,236 sales, while 59,987 examples of the Sandero supermini have been sold. In fact, it was a Sandero that was the first ever Dacia registered in the UK, with the owner taking delivery of the top-of-the-range Laureate version in January 2013.
Glacier White has proved the most popular colour over the years, with the original top-of-the-range Laureate trim level resonating most with car buyers. Although no longer labelled Laureate, the theme continues with 34% of Dacia customers purchasing top specification models in 2022.
The original flagship trim level was ordered on 62,273 vehicles, followed by Comfort on 46,172 examples, while 28,340 customers chose the more recent Prestige specification.
Last year the Dacia story continued with the beginning of a new chapter following the reveal of its bold new visual identity, rolled out simultaneously across its entire range – a first in the automotive industry. With new colours and the recognisable Dacia Link emblem, all Dacia Dealerships in the UK will feature the new identity by 2024, with over 70% by the end of this year.
With its recent well-documented success, the brand shows no signs of slowing down. Dacia increased its sales volume in 2022 by 55% compared to 2021, selling 27,313 vehicles with 94% finding homes with retail customers. Against the backdrop of a very challenging market that was down 40,000 units year-on-year and with the world still emerging from a global pandemic, this result confirms that Dacia is on track to surpass its 2019 performance when it sold a record 30,951 vehicles in the UK.
Sandero sales were up 34% against 2021, as the hatchback increased its market share to over 3% in the B-Hatch retail segment, while the Sandero Stepway recorded a huge year-on-year uplift of over 85% to sell 8,198 units. The seismic increase saw it take 6.22% of the growing retail B-SUV market, with the model’s retail sales improving by 91%.
Finally, the rugged Duster grew its sales by more than 19%, with 10,618 vehicles sold. This reaffirms its strong position in the competitive C-SUV segment by significantly outgrowing the market’s growth of 4.4%.
Today, Dacia commands an impressive 3.1% retail market share, a great achievement for a brand that has only been in the UK for just ten years.
Luke Broad, Dacia Brand Director for the UK, said: “Ten years on and Dacia has grown and innovated, but our focus on providing UK car buyers with an unrivalled blend of quality and value is as strong as it’s ever been. In many ways, our success over the last decade is only the beginning, with Dacia now firmly established and widely recognised for redefining the essentials. As we enter an exciting new phase and as the brand continues to be bolder and continually push the boundaries, there’s no mistaking that Dacia is here to stay.”
In ten years, lots has changed, but Dacia remains Dacia. The brand continues to offer the best value for money on the market and will continue to redefine the essentials.
