The Toyota RAV 4 Skoda Yeti or Suzuki Vitara recognize

It has front door and the front windshield of the Dacia Sandero, the same engines as the family of Logan, the deck of some Nissan, a ceiling in the Megane 2 and a small horn "vintage" to the winey, type 4 L, purchased in India: 4 X 4 Duster that Renault began to market low cost European Dacia brandin Africa and the Maghreb, is a chameleon vehicle, which draws its organs on the right and left to much savings as possible. A nightmare for automotive OEMs, seeking to caser their latest findings at each exit of vehicle. To make the new with the old: Renault is not to reinvent the wheel but seeks to seduce a clientele was not interested in new vehicles because of their price, with innovative if possible silhouettes.

To the nearest penny

At the time, this very rudimentary vehicle is available from 11.900 euros in front-wheel drive, and 13.900(2) euros in four wheel drive, a shock to the competition argument. Evidence that the public understood the message, 4,000 orders come to be registered in France in just two weeks.

What comfort Dacia, which became in March the first brand imported into France, Volkswagen and Ford.

The Duster is not be the best vehicle market, nor the most powerful, totally playing on another array. "As the rest of the so-called"Entry", the vehicle range is studied to the nearest penny." "We are in Dacia," says Gérard Detourbet, Director of the entry of the group, sold as the Dacia or Renault logos depending on the country. The main idea: offer the best ratio price/livability, no-frills, and not only in developing countries. A concept simple but pushed to the extreme, to the point that generalist competitors seem step have thought before. "The other 4 X 4 of the market are either significantly smaller than the Duster or more technology and more expensive," said in Renault. The Toyota RAV 4, Skoda Yeti or Suzuki Vitara recognize...

Difficult to predict how many vehicles will be sold and what backgrounds will be customers. Users opportunity, family minivans sedans and 4 X 4 legacy, "the buyers should be a quite diverse origin", considers the staff of the group to the diamond.

Very "delocalized" production

Side industrial, group Renault starts production in its plant in Romania but will quickly make a true international program of the Duster: it provides, in the medium term capacity of production of more than 300,000 units per year. With nearly 150,000 in Pitesti (Romania), 60,000 in Moscow (Russia) for the local market, as much to the Brazil, Colombia 20,000 and 30,000 in India, in the new factory Renault-Nissan.

Symbol of the relocations which irritate both the French Government, engineering and the development of the vehicle (some EUR 200 million) was started in France at Guyancourt and gradually transferred to the new centre of engineering Renault to Titu, Romania, making the hand with his "real" first baby. For the design, which a part has been entrusted to the centre of Bucharest. Could one day imagine repatriate such a vehicle, if successful, to a factory of France or Spain Absolutely not, says Gérard Detourbet. "If you transferred this model in the West, its cost of returns take a 1,500 to 2,000 euros more." Not to mention its sale price, which would rise even more.

At the time, Renault prefer arrange by distributing volumes between several countries low-cost, by a learned bonneteau set. To place the Duster on its almost saturated chains of Romania, the Group should transfer part of Logan and Sandero fabrications to its existing plant in Casablanca (Morocco), knowing that the workforce on-site is slightly more expensive than in Romania. While in the original concept of Louis Schweitzer, the Logan first version, released late 2004, ensured its economic balance with a volume of 100,000 cars a year in a single plant (Pitesti), the group must now juggle 6 models low cost (in the meantime two more in 2012), divided between two marks and sold in more than 80 countries.