Renault’s managing director has refused to rule out a UK launch for its budget brand Dacia. Roland Bouchara said in an exclusive interview that the company has only put off the launch of the brand in the UK due to the Pound’s weakness against the Euro and he said the situation would be looked at again in 2010.
“The weakness of the Pound meant we had to cancel the planned launch of Dacia,” said Bouchara. “There was no way it could be sold at a profit.”
The Pound has been recovering rapidly since its drop last year and earlier this year, and Bouchara expects that recovery to continue into 2010. If a Dacia launch were to happen, it would include a range of cars rather than single models such as the Sandero.
“Dacia will soon have a full range of cars, which would spread the cost of a launch,” said Bouchara. “We will take another look at it in 2010.”
Dacia's UK launch has been put off since 2008 due to the very delicate state of the British economy, which is now stabilising.