How is the budget brand doing on the used car market?
The Romanian Dacia has been active on the Dutch market for more than fifteen years as a supplier of cheap, very… basic equipped cars. Models like the Sandero and the Duster do well with buyers who like to drive something relatively new, but do not want to pay the price that usually comes with it. But how is the demand for second-hand Dacias developing, which are even cheaper than their brand new brothers? The answer? Fine, but for a specific audience.
Serious back to basics
As a sub-brand of Renault, Dacia specializes in supplying cars that are almost completely stripped of modern accessories, which can be found in almost all new models. A Back to Basics –The article about a Dacia is therefore considerably shorter than, for example, a Renault or a Mazda. This complete lack of unnecessary luxury has a major advantage: it allows Dacia to sell their cars for absolute rock bottom prices. A brand new Duster, a neat compact SUV, leaves the showroom for just over €20,000. Many competitors can add another ten thousand or so.
Young Dacias are in demand
The fact that you can drive cheaply with Dacia in a relatively young car is reflected in the search behavior of people looking for such a Romanian rascal. According to the figures from Gaspedal.nl, the years of construction in the searches are roughly between 2017 and 2022. Anything older is searched for a lot less. If we look at the average amounts that consumers search for, we arrive at somewhere between €10,000 and €20,000. In other words: the really cheap Dacias are much less popular than the variants that still have a reasonable price.
Is Dacia popular on the used car market?
If you compare Dacia to the most popular brands out there, such as Volkswagen and BMW, it is noticeable that Dutch people are not looking for this budget Renault en masse. The two most popular models, the Sandero and the Duster, together account for around half a million searches per year. Sounds great, but the Volkswagen Golf alone attracts more than 300,000 searches per month. In short: this economy is not too bad for the average Dutch car buyer. A few extra cents for a little more luxury in your car doesn’t seem like a big problem.
Most sought-after options in a Dacia
Then another interesting point. What is the most sought-after option in the notoriously under-equipped Dacia? A tow bar. With distance. People search for a Dacia with a towbar twice as often as for one with air conditioning or navigation. Accessories such as seat heating, leather upholstery or even a reversing camera hardly appear in the search behavior of the average Dacia buyer. After all, he or she knows what he or she is looking for: a car that offers the absolute basics at a price that other manufacturers cannot compete with.
Conclusion: a steady demand for a steady car
All in all, Dacia is doing well on the used car market, but not nearly as well as its more expensive but better equipped competitors. This means you can safely say that a Dacia attracts a specific audience that is not concerned about luxury or comfort that is in fact not necessary. A Dacia buyer wants a good, relatively new car for as little money as possible, with a tow bar. Just the way Dacia likes it.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl