Are Dacia about to fill a gap in the market?

Dacia is a brand with a chequered past in the UK. The original Dacia vehicles were Renault vehicles, made under license in Romania, and the brand sat with other budget brands from the eastern block, such as Lada, Skoda and Yugo. The vehicles were unsophisticated to say the least, and when compared to the mainstays of the market at the time, such as Ford and Vauxhall.

As with many of these brands, they were ultimately either purchased by one of the western cars giants, like Skoda were by Volkswagen Audi, or disappeared into oblivion with the demise of the eastern block. Dacia struggled on and were eventually taken under the wing of Renault in 1999.

Fluctuations in exchange rates have been one of the reasons that the Dacia brand has not been introduced in the UK to date, but in the next few months a budget small car, the Sandero, will be launched, at less than £6,000! To put that into context, in 2001 the Citroen Saxo was more expensive than that, and even after the famous Citroen Cashback had been applied.

Dacia's place in the UK market?

Why do we believe the Dacia brand is moving into a gap in the UK market? Well the traditional budget brands have moved on. Skoda and Seat are now firmly in the 'middle' Britain band, with superbly built cars and refinery. Even the likes of Kia and Hyundai have seen their prices rise in the last few years, and rightly so as the built quality has improved hugely.

For those who are looking for the ultimate in value, then a brand new vehicle for less than £6,000 is going to be pretty hard to beat. Dacia may just be the ticked for those shopping on a budget.

For more on GAP Insurance options for Dacia please visit our dedicated page.