Milestone: Dacia sells 250,000th car in UK

Gareth Herincx

3 days ago
Auto News

Dacia sells 250,000th car in UK

Budget brand Dacia has marked first decade in the UK by selling its quarter of a millionth car.

Charlie James and his family collected their Dacia Jogger Extreme SE from Richard Sanders Dacia in Northampton.

To mark the occasion, Dacia added unique touches to the seven-seat Jogger including a special plaque and one-of-a-kind ‘250,000’ embroidered mats

Dacia sells 250,000th car in UK

The landmark achievement falls during the same year that the brand is marking a decade of rapidly rising sales and ever-increasing market share.

In 2022 alone, Dacia sold 27,313 vehicles in the UK – an increase of 55% compared to the previous year.

“With three growing teenagers you need a large car, and the Jogger is perfect for us as a family,” said Charlie James.

“I had read a lot of online reviews and they were all very positive, saying how roomy it is and highlighting the usability of the third row of seats.

“We’re now going to be a lot more comfortable when we’re all travelling together. Finding out that I’m the 250,000th customer was quite a surprise!”

Luke Broad, Dacia Brand Director for the UK, added: “At a time when value and durability are more important than ever to customers, we are delighted that Dacia is continuing to go from strength-to-strength in the UK.”

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Milestone as Dacia makes 10 millionth vehicle

Gareth Herincx

3 days ago
Auto News

Dacia celebrates 10 million vehicles

Dacia is celebrating the production of its 10 millionth vehicle since the value-for-money brand was born in 1968.

The Dacia Duster Extreme SE in Urban Grey was produced at the company’s plant in Romania.

Dacia celebrates 10 millionth vehicle

Dacia assembled its first vehicle, the Dacia 1100, in August 1968. The following year, the popular Dacia 1300 model was introduced. It inspired a whole family of derivatives such as the saloon, station wagon, sports coupe and LCV and remained in production for 35 years.

A new chapter in Dacia’s history was opened following its acquisition by Renault Group in 1999.

With the launch of Logan in 2004, Dacia became a global carmaker and the pace of sales accelerated. In 2005, Dacia opened a production line outside Romania, at the Somaca plant in Casablanca, Morocco.

Dacia launched in the UK in January 2013 and enjoyed the most successful start ever for a new car brand in the UK. So far, more than 220,000 Dacia vehicles have been sold. In all, Dacia vehicles are sold in 44 countries.

Within the 10 million vehicles produced, there have been:

  • 2.6 million Dacia Sandero and Sandero Stepway, the best-selling vehicle to private customers in Europe since 2017
  • 2.1 million Dacia Duster, the best-selling SUV to private customers in Europe since 2018
  • 1.95 million Dacia Logan and Logan MCV
  • 2.3 million Dacia 1300 (and variants)

“We are very proud to have passed the symbolic milestone of 10 million vehicles produced,” said Denis Le Vot, CEO of Dacia.

“This result rewards a pragmatic vision of the automobile, focused on what is essential to our customers.

“Building on its experience, Dacia will continue to grow and offer attractive vehicles that are adapted to our customers’ lifestyles.”

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Dacia Jogger review

Dacia Jogger

Every now and again a new car rocks up that takes me by complete surprise. Believe it or not, the Dacia Jogger is one such vehicle.

The headline is that this latest model from Renault’s Romanian budget brand is the cheapest seven-seater on the market – by a long chalk.

The reality is that it’s a remarkably affordable family car that can genuinely seat seven people (I’m just under 6ft and I can fit in the third row), which is more than you can say for some other supposed seven-seaters for more than twice the price.

Dacia Jogger

The cheap and cheerful Jogger range starts at just £14,995 and it’s hard to categorise because it’s the length of an estate car, has the ground clearance some crossovers, and yet boasts the interior versality of a people carrier, or even a LAV (Leisure Activity Vehicle).

There are three trim levels – Essential, Comfort and Extreme SE. The former comes with cruise control, air conditioning, LED lights and rear parking sensors as standard.

Comfort, which is likely to be the most popular option, gets keyless entry, an electronic handbrake, automatic wipers and a rear parking camera, while Extreme SE adds heated front seats, interior floor mats, sat nav and a few rufty-tufty exterior styling tweaks.

Dacia Jogger

Comfort and Extreme get an 8.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, but you’ll have to use your smartphone for media and navigation duties on an entry-level Essential model.

So, the Jogger follows in the same successful wheel-tracks as its siblings – the Sandero, Sandero Stepway and Duster – which is no-frills motoring at a bargain price.

It shares its attractive front end, complete with straked LED headlights, with the recently launched Sandero, while its profile is certainly distinctive (and long), but it won’t win a rear of the year contest.

Dacia Jogger

That said, it is a clever design because the rear gently rises up, allowing stacks of headroom and visibility inside for passengers in the stadium-style second row of seats, where there’s already impressive legroom.

The huge tailgate opens to reveal just 213 litres of cargo space with the third row of seats in place.  As a five-seater, you get a massive 699 litres of space. Fold these down and remove the third row of seats (easily done) and there’s a van-like 2,085-litre load bay.

The Jogger also features Dacia’s clever roof rails, which swivel around to create a roof rack.

Dacia Jogger

The front cabin will be familiar to Sandero drivers, which means that it’s pretty basic and there’s no shortage of scratchy plastic, but it does the job. My only gripe is that the driving position is a little high for my liking.

The Jogger’s 1.0-litre, three-cylinder engine is more refined than I expected and surprisingly punchy at lower speeds. The Eco button dulls the engine response, so best left for longer cruises. The six-speed manual gearbox works just fine – it’s just a shame Dacia sticks with its uncomfortable gear knob.

On paper, the 108bhp turbo petrol engine (TCe 110) can sprint to 62mph in 11.2 seconds and return up to 48.7mpg, while CO2 emissions are 131g/km. From my experience of driving on mixed roads, 45mpg is achievable, and it can nudge 50mpg on a motorway run.

Dacia Jogger

It’s incredibly easily to drive with light steering and good visibility, but things get a little more challenging when its pushed beyond its comfort zone. More spirited drivers will soon realise that it loses its composure on more challenging roads.

Keep it sensible and the lightweight Jogger is nimble and good fun to drive.

So far so good – now the fly in the ointment. The Jogger scored just one out of five stars in Euro NCAP safety tests, which are more rigorous than ever.

It was marked down for its lack of safety kit and driver assistance technology equipment and the testers were unimpressed that it doesn’t have airbags or seatbelt reminders for the third row of seats.

While this safety score is nothing to boast about, it’s worth pointing out that the Jogger isn’t a dangerous car, it’s just not as super safe as many other new vehicles.

Dacia Jogger

For the record, all Jogger models feature six airbags, autonomous emergency braking (AEB), anti-lock brakes (ABS), ESC (Electronic Stability Control) with ASR (Traction control) and Hill Start Assist (HSA), while Comfort trim and above get a blind spot warning system. In other words, it’s still a lot safer than millions of older cars on the roads today.

It’s a shame to end on a negative, because the Jogger is a fantastic all-round package, especially when every penny counts.

Verdict: As the cost of living crisis deepens, the all-new Dacia Jogger is well worth considering because it offers remarkable value for money and is a superbly honest and practical car. A genuine seven-seater, it’s economical, easy to drive and incredibly versatile. Take one for a test drive and prepare to be bowled over.

Dacia UK

Dacia Jogger