Automotive News Europe - Talk From The Top Supplement - December 2019 - 13

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE

TALK FROM THE TOP

cause we have to renew Dacia, but I
can't tell you on what platform.

Dacia
customers are less
concerned about
novelty than Renault
customers.

In general, the cost of all vehicles is
going up because of emissions regulations. Can Dacia continue to offer "value for money" as its main selling point?
The problem with the regulations is that
you are adding 1,000 to 1,500 euros to
the cost. When it's a 100,000-euro car,
it's easier to absorb. When it's one that
costs 8,000 or 9,000, that is 10 percent
or more. That is why there is a delay [in
Dacia using Renault technology] and
why we are trying to wait as long as possible to amortize the technology.
Safety regulations such as new NCAP
testing will add to costs. How are you
dealing with that?
Prices everywhere will go up, but we have
to ensure that the price gap between Dacia
and the rest of the market, which is about
20 percent less, is maintained. Otherwise,
volume will go down. But we have to continue to offer "value for money" and a relatively high level of equipment but at a lower
price. It's not just a car with four wheels.
Do you plan to use other technologies from the Renault-Nissan alliance,
such as lane keeping or adaptive
cruise control?
Yes, but our customers aren't asking for
that. Their needs are simpler: to get from
Point A to Point B. For this they want air
conditioning, electric windows, power
steering but they don't want a self-driving
car because they know they will never get
a self-driving car at 10,000 euros. When we
are required to put it in, we will do so. But
we will try to do it as late as possible, otherwise it will break Dacia's business model.
Dacia's lineup has been mostly the
same in recent years, although the
Duster was completely renewed at
the end of 2017. When can we expect
new models, such as a new Sandero?
Nothing has been finalized. Something
will happen in the next two years be-

2019

In Partnership with

workers and reasonable costs. There is
no reason to change.

Do Dacia owners keep their cars longer than Renault owners?
Dacia customers are less concerned about
novelty than Renault customers. They are
pragmatic. They want a car to get themselves and their families around safely, but
they are not worried about fashion.

Are there other markets where Dacia
could be introduced, or will you continue to brand some Dacia models as
Renaults to be sold outside of Europe?
In Europe, there are two different customers: a Dacia customer and a Renault
customer. The Dacia customer often
stays with Dacia. When he is young, he
What about the Dokker, your small van. will more likely have bought a used car
Will that move to a newer Renault plat- and then moved up to a Dacia. He will
form, and will light commercial vehi- stay with Dacia. It's rare to have a Dacia
cles become more important to Dacia? customer move to Renault. We need to
We can't reveal anything yet, but that keep the brands separate because Dawould be logical. Renault will launch a cia and Renault customers don't want
Kangoo [car-derived van], and we will see the same things.
for what price equation we could make
a Dacia version and whether we will do The Duster has been an incredible
it. We relaunched Dacia with a "net price" success. Have you thought about crebusiness model. You can't compete in the ating variants of it?
fleet market with that philosophy. If you do No, because the success of Duster is
fleets, you start to discount. And then peo- based on the price and the cost. The more
ple will buy fleet cars to re-sell to individu- you increase the diversity of your range,
als. That is why it's complicated for Dacia the more you raise the costs and the more
you have to raise prices. We only raise our
to do fleets or utility vehicles.
prices at the level of inflation, or maybe a
Dacia tries to avoid channels such as little bit less. There is always a temptation
short-term rentals in Europe, right?
to say, in France, we have about 2 percent
Yes. It's just like the fleet market. The inflation, we could raise prices 3 percent.
rental cars will be resold after three But we have to maintain our business modor four months, but at a 20 percent or el of offering value for money.
30 percent discount, and it would break
our business model. We do sell a little bit What is the next step for Dacia? More
in those channels, but in France, for ex- volume or more efficiency?
ample, 80 percent of our sales are retail. We will continue to push value for money; we have found a good balance beDacia now has plants in Romania and tween the price and the content of the
Morocco. Do you need to expand your cars. If we raise the content we will have
production footprint?
to raise the price. If we do that we will be
ANE
We are in two countries with well-trained competing with Renault.

Dacia aims to ensure that the price of models such as the Duster
remains about 20% below rivals.

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Automotive News Europe - Talk From The Top Supplement - December 2019

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