Romanian Carmaker Dacia To Launch SUV In 2009

"The SUV to be launched by Dacia aims to lure the fans of Korea-made SUVs, which are the cheapest cars on the market. The advantage of Dacia brand SUV will be the price, which be lower by a few thousand euros, compared with the prices set by competitors," Dacia officials told MEDIAFAX Thursday.

The competing compact SUV brands are Korea-made Kia Sportage and Hyundai Tucson, as well as BMW X3 and Volkswagen Tiguan. The prices of first two SUVs range from nearly EUR18,000 to slightly over EUR27,000, VAT included.

Dacia commercial manager, Jacques Daniel, said the design of the new SUV is based on the Logan platform or a slightly altered one.

Dacia’s newest car model is utility vehicle Logan Pick-Up and the company said it started taking orders for the new vehicle late February, while the first deliveries will be made early April for prices ranging between EUR7,250 and EUR9,300, VAT included.

Logan Pick-Up primarily focuses on tradespeople and merchants needing a workhorse vehicle and will be sold this year in Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey. The car will also be available on other world market starting 2009.

Moreover, Dacia will start producing the re-stylized model of Logan Sedan in the second half of 2008.

With 230,000 cars sold in 2007, Dacia posted a 17.4% year on year increase in sales in 2007.