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Dacia Sandero
Competing for the top sales position in Europe
The first-generation Dacia Logan, photographed in Provence, France, in 2006.
The two cars competing for the top spot in sales in Europe in 2024 are the Tesla Model Y and the Dacia Sandero. The latter is a great car that has not received much attention in Japan, but is definitely worth mentioning.
Dacia is a brand operated by the Renault Group in Europe and other parts of the world. Its origins date back to 1966, when the then Renault Corporation and the socialist Romanian government signed a partnership and began production of the Renault 8 in the country. Renault then acquired a majority stake in the brand in 1999, relaunching it as a world car. The first-generation Logan, released in 2004, was the de facto first model of the new Dacia in the European market, and was sold in the Renault network in various countries and regions of Western Europe. This car shared many of the same mechanisms as Renault vehicles, including the 1.4-liter and 1.6-liter engines, but was priced under 10,000 euros, attracting significant attention and making the Dacia name instantly famous.
The Sandero is a hatchback based on the Logan that was launched in the 2008 model year, and the current model, which was released in 2020, is the third generation. It uses the same CMF-B LS platform as Renault’s Clio and Captur.
Dacia comes in fourth place after Fiat
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[1] Second-generation Dacia Sandero. Photographed in Paris in October 2022. [2] Third-generation Sandero before the facelift. For an acquaintance of mine, who will be mentioned later, this is his second current Sandero, and he says that it was recently “stolen by his daughter.” [3] At a dealership I visited for research in order to write this article. The Sandero Stepway display car (in the foreground) is the Extreme Up 1.0Tce ECO-G model, and the price including options and VAT is 20,160 euros (approximately 3.25 million yen).
In November, the Sandero and its crossover sister car, the Sandero Stepway, topped the monthly sales charts in Europe for the fourth time in 2024. In Italy, the Sandero is beginning to catch up with the Fiat Panda, which remains the top-selling car in terms of registrations but is aging after 12 years on the market. At the same time, this has helped propel Dacia as a whole up the rankings. In November, Dacia ranked fourth in new car registrations in Italy, behind Toyota in first place, VW in second place, and Fiat in third place. It’s only a matter of time before it overtakes Fiat.
The Dacia Duster is a subcompact SUV. The current model is the third generation, which was released in 2024.
Dacia is now an indispensable product at Renault dealerships. According to Daniele Rizzo, a sales representative at a dealer in Siena, where I live, the sales ratio is now 1:2 for every Renault. Depending on the specification, the waiting time can be up to four months. Meanwhile, his colleague and senior colleague, Aldo Baglioni, explained the reasons for Dacia’s success. The first is that many people are choosing Dacia as a realistic alternative to the Renault brand, which has pursued higher prices and electrification as part of its manufacturer strategy. The second is the partial model update in 2022. “Dacia’s customer base, which was previously over 35 years old, has suddenly become younger,” Aldo says.
A new wind blows in Europe for the first time in a long time
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[1] They are also actively developing lifestyle collections, including clothing. They use a lot of cardboard for the fixtures, creating an eco-friendly feel. [2] Outside the showroom. From left: Renault Captur, Dacia’s Chinese-made EV Spring, and Renault Twingo.
Incidentally, I have an Italian acquaintance who switched from a Panda to the current Sandero. Not only that, but this is already his third current Sandero. The first one was totally destroyed in a traffic accident caused by a car that ran into him. The second one was “stolen” by his only daughter. He had no choice but to buy a new one, and so he decided to buy his current car. Dacia is a breath of fresh air blowing through the mature European market for the first time in a long time, and the Sandero is the “great car” that brought it about.
Text & Photo by Akio Lorenzo OYA, journalist based in Italy
