Logan is this year's keyword at the Romanian carmaker Dacia. The new engine options, the doubled production pace and the development of a centre for CKD (subassemblies) collections to be assembled in the plants of Russia, Morocco, Iran and Columbia, all the important moves Dacia has announced for this year revolve around the new model.
"At present, the production capacity stands at 300 Logan units daily, but we have orders for 350 cars per day," stated Jacques Abot, Dacia's commercial director.
Moreover, given that the number of orders for the Logan has reached more than 40,000 units, it is no wonder that those wanting to buy such a car will have to wait for almost two months before they get it.
Abot says that the time gap between the order and the delivery will shrink once the third shift is introduced starting February or March, with the production capacity rising to 500 Logans per day.
Moreover, as the Solenza will no longer be manufactured, the production capacity will reach, according to Dacia representatives, 600 Logan units per day as of this spring.
"We will also start building a centre for CKD collections that will be produced within the Dacia plant and will be sent for assemblage in the plants based in Russia, Morocco, Iran and Columbia," Abot also said. He was unwilling to provide further details linked to the investment.
"The investment will be considerable, especially since a number of 150,000 CKD collections will be annually produced at Dacia," Abot specified.
With two new engine options, a diesel and a petrol model, and the launch of the long-awaited 5,000-euro Dacia, the Romanian producer will this year register, according to its commercial director, an over 70% surge in sales, which will also allow it to post its first annual profit since takeover by Renault.
Dacia will sell more than 162,000 cars on the domestic and foreign markets this year, which is more than double the sales logged in 2002, for instance.
"On the Romanian market, we want to maintain our share of 45-50%, and, compared with the level we anticipate this year for the domestic market, it accounts for 102,500 units," Jacques Abot stated.
The highest increase will be logged by exports, as the launch of the Logan on a series of markets close to Romania, and also in Western Europe, will allow the domestic producer to reach 60,000 produced units, up four times compared to last year's 15,000 exported cars.
The 162,500 cars to be produced and sold this year account for an over 70% increase as compared to the 95,000 units sold in 2004, when the Romanian carmaker logged an increase of almost 40%.
ionut.bonoiu@zf.ro
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