Renault Australia’s unremitting efforts to bring the Dacia Duster Looks like it’s entered a new phase, with the company honing its new price leader selling trick.
The next-generation version of the Dacia Duster – Dacia is Renault’s affordable sub-brand in markets like Europe and the UK – is expected to arrive globally by 2024.
While it will certainly have more technology and features than the model that is currently selling like wildfire, it is expected to retain aspects of the cheap and handy features that have made it so popular. famous.
It is for this reason that Renault Australia general manager Glen Sealey is pushing so hard for the car, that the company’s local branch has provided input to the program’s engineers to ensure that it will conform to market regulations.
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Current generation Dusters
Expected to wear the Renault badge to help the company’s efforts to establish a new rebranding name, the company hopes to speak to budget-minded adventurers similar to the Suzuki Jimny – a product body-on-frame is more powerful, it must be added.
“If you look at Australia today, we only take a fraction of the vehicles available from [the] Groups, but there’s a lot more that can be accessed for any market – despite the limitations of a market like Australia which can limit supply due to both right-hand drive and some safety regulations. absolutely dedicated to us here,” said Mr Sealey.
“But in terms of product, we have always had a vision for Renault in Australia to categorize the brand into four distinct lifestyle categories: Adventure, Core, LCV and finally Alpine, which is set to transition to full running. all electric.
“The Adventure range is really important to us because it includes the Romanian-born Dacia product that Renault took control of in 1999.
“We would love to bring Dacia Duster to Australia under the Renault brand but we simply cannot do it with the existing Duster, it has to be with the new third generation Duster, which is expected to land next year. 2024.
“Don’t get me wrong, we’d love to bring the current Duster to Australia but it won’t pass the ADR side impact regulations.
“In fact, we are working with Renault to ensure that our requirements for ADR are built into the vehicle at an early stage in vehicle development.
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Dacia Bigster concept can preview the new Duster
“I saw this model while working at Renault in France and believe it will perform very well in Australia as it will fit into the outdoor lifestyle we all share in this country.
“What is important to us, however, is that it gives us a usable (and more affordable) internal combustion engine vehicle as the rest of the range transitions to electrification. vehicle, in the form of a hybrid, plug-in hybrid or an all-battery vehicle,” concluded Mr. Sealey.
Also don’t expect major changes to the next-generation Duster, at least according to the formula, according to Sealey.
“Duster gives you everything you need and nothing you don’t,” he added.
“We find Duster attractive to the same kind of buyers who might be attracted to Suzuki Jimny, for example. The ride is high and something you can drive from Sydney to Mudgee and not burn out, but still have four-wheel drive to a degree.
“It certainly won’t compete with the traditional two-wheel drive SUV market. Rather, the Duster has good approach and departure angles, a 4X4 powertrain, [buyt will be] much more spacious and premium than the existing model. “
Unlike other markets, where Dacia Duster has thrived as a bone-dasher (it launched in the UK in 2010 for under £10,000), Mr Sealey tells us it won’t be complete. Just like in Australia.
“Unfortunately, we also have to pay taxes with the car coming from Europe and we would also appreciate more in terms of specs… as Australians usually like a lot of features and that will affect. to the price.
“We are not essentially positioning the next-generation Duster as a basic budget proposition to run around the streets of Sydney and Melbourne. Instead, we consider it a really fun outing car you can take from Sydney to the Blue Mountains and do some off-roading and enjoy the Australian outdoor lifestyle.
Mr Sealey concluded: “It was helpful to us in Australia that South Africa used Duster in the right-drive Renault, while in other right-hand drive markets like the UK, Duster was under the Dacia brand,” said Mr. Sealey. end.
Renault Australia management has previously really progressed on the road to offering Dacia in Australia as a no-frills European budget competitor, but never quite solved the business problem, or agree on the appropriate nomenclature for the head office.
However, the French brand later chose not to run the Australian wholesale and import business directly, and switch to third-party vehicle distribution specialist AtecoThis has opened the door for further rethinking.
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