Dacia - the transformation from Cinderella to a European princess
Many people associate the Dacia brand with cheap, rather ruined and, in the end, stylistically raw cars that flooded our market in the 80s and early 90s. Unfortunately, few appreciate the Romanian manufacturer, which over the years has evolved from a small production into a serious player in the market.
At one time, the Dacia 1300 was a very common sight on Polish roads. Unfortunately, today this relic of the past is a real rarity, and examples in good condition can only be found in NRL automotive museums or in the garages of collectors who are reluctant to bring their treasures to light. It is not surprising that these cars contain a huge amount of history, quite turbulent, extremely interesting and full of automotive heart.
After a slightly melancholy introduction, let's return to the origins of the Dacia brand. We will start with the basics, i.e. where did the brand name come from. The origin is quite complicated, as the Romanian brand, which of course originates in Romania under the name Uzina De Autoturisme Pitesti, comes from the Roman province of Dacia. Once this province was located on the territory of today's Romania. Initially, this land was formed by natural borders - from the north it bordered on the Carpathians, from the east on the Prut River, from the south on the lower Danube, and on the west with its central part. But let's put an end to geohistorical intricacies and return to our main character.
Most people who have ever had contact with the Dacia brand believe that since recently the company has been wholly owned by the French Renault. There is, of course, some truth in this, but few people know that the Romanian factory has been closely cooperating with the French almost from the very beginning of its existence. Let's go to the very beginning, i.e. to the creation of the Dacia brand in 1952 in the form of Uzina de Autoturisme Pitesti, with its main factory in Kolibashi (now Mioveni) near Pitesti. Almost 10 years ago, the production of parts for aircraft began here, so it was not difficult to redesign assembly lines for the production of cars.
As already mentioned, Dacia has worked closely with Renault almost from the beginning. The Romanian plant not only used the technologies of the French concern, but also produced cars under its license, as we will now see. True, Dacia tried several times to create something of its own, such as a car called Mioveni in 1966, but this and other attempts were unsuccessful. Dacia has decided to abandon its ambitions in favor of proven developments. At least temporarily.
In 1968, Dacia finally signed an official cooperation agreement with the French concern Renault. The first fruit of the collaboration was the Dacia 1100, which was produced in an amount of 37 units in less than two years. At first glance, you can see that the Dacia 1100 is almost the twin sister of the Renault 8, which, by the way, looked very interesting and is still a valuable collector's item. The Romanian version of the car had a rear engine with a power of 48 hp, and the maximum speed was km/h.
A year after the signing of the cooperation agreement, another Dacia model is born - 1300. The car is clearly based on the Renault 12. In this case, it seems that the Romanian equivalent of Renault has acquired, at least in our country, much more. popularity than the French original. The popularity was so great that in the following years new versions of the engine were also created, including the 1210, 1310 or 1410, as well as body styles such as the 1973 station wagon or the then-revolutionary pickup truck.
Today, the Dacia 1300 is considered to have carried the Romanian marque from the eastern lowlands to the European highlands. It is not surprising that the model was produced in many modifications until 1980. Of course, the Romanian ambition returned, thanks to which interesting variations of the model were created, which, unfortunately, did not go into mass production. In addition to the 1300p model, which reigned supreme on Polish roads, there were experiments such as the Brasovia coupe or the Dacia Sport. It’s a pity that cars didn’t leave the design tables, because they could seriously pollute the sports car market in those years. Other unfulfilled dreams of the brand include the 1308 Jumbo delivery model or a four-wheel drive off-road pickup.
The 80s and 90s were once again ambition, surpassed by the sense of the Romanian brand. In 1976, Dacia decides to break off cooperation with the French concern Renault and start producing cars on its own. Filled with previous successes, the Romanian brand owners are confident that they have enough experience and wisdom to conquer the European market on their own without sharing their successes with anyone else. Even before the termination of the contract, the Dacia 2000 model will be created, which, of course, is the twin sister of the Renault 20. Unfortunately, the car is no longer gaining such popularity as the 1300 model, and in the early 's the government in Romania interferes with the automotive industry.
Before Dacia is a rather difficult task. Well, the Romanian government orders the manufacturer to produce small and, of course, inexpensive cars that the average resident of this country could afford. The fruit of hard and, unfortunately, forced work is the Dacia 500 Lastun. Unfortunately, one look at the car is enough to conclude that this is a terrible mistake - a weak engine, tragic workmanship and styling straight out of the Middle Ages meant that the car was not very popular.
After many years of drought and collapse, Dacia was reborn in 1998 with the Nova. In order not to make another mistake, the manufacturer reaches for reason and common sense and decides to use many solutions from other companies, including Peugeot and Renault. However, the real revolution came a year later.
In 1999, Dacia apologizes to the Renault concern, which in return buys a 51 percent stake in the Romanian company, thus becoming the owner of the Dacia brand. Since then, this inconspicuous brand has been gaining momentum and slowly but steadily winning the hearts of European drivers. The first step in this direction was the modernization of the Nova model. The car has newer and more powerful engines, and the name has changed to SuperNova - very modern.
If at first the ratio of the shares of the Romanian brand was quite even - 51 to 49 in favor of the French company, then over the years the scales tipped towards Renault. Entering the new millennium for Dacia meant the strengthening of the hegemony of the French manufacturer, but did the manufacturer from Mioveni refuse this? Of course not, because it was his only chance to enter the European market. It was known that Dacia could not cope on its own, and the powerful support of the French Renault would be invaluable.
After Renault took over the majority of the shares in 1999, their stake jumped to 73,2% a year later, and shortly thereafter to 81,4%. Just a year later, as many as 92,7% of the shares passed into the hands of the French company, and in 2003, finally, 99,3%. A modest 0,07% stake in Dacia appears to allow the company to retain its badge and trademark. Anyway, in the same year, the successor to the SuperNova model called Solenca enters the market - much better equipped and carefully made. For some reason, the Renault brand can be seen at a glance.
Dacia's takeover by Renault resulted in massive cash injections of almost 500 million euros. Most of this amount was used to modernize Romanian factories that had not been modernized in years. Back in 2004, Europe found out whether such an investment was profitable - the Logan model entered the market, which soon became an almost revolutionary car. Excellent equipment at a very low price - this combination was enough to conquer the markets of developing countries, not only Europe. The huge interest of buyers led to the fact that the car also got to Western Europe, where German and French cars reign. The following years brought new models: Duster, Sandero, Logan in several variants, and recently the Lodgy, which debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in early March of this year.
The Dacia brand is currently led by Jerome Olive, who succeeded François Fourmont as president on November 26, 2009. The previous CEO left the company from Miowen and retired. Jerome Olive first took over as administrator and shortly thereafter became CEO of Dacia. Looking through his biography, one can come to the conclusion that he is the right person in the right place. Jerome Olive was born December 8, 1957. In 1980, he received an engineering degree from the Catholic Institute of Arts and Crafts, ICAM. Jérôme has been associated with the French brand almost from the beginning of his career. Already in 1982, he began working at the Renault plant in Sandouville. In 1985, he took over the investment and operating functions, and immediately after that he became the director of operations. Jerome Olivia's most recent successes include his appointment as Operations Director at Douai in 1999. It is one of the largest and most modern Renault plants in the world. Just 5 years after this success, Olivia became the CEO of this factory. Who was Jerome Olivia's predecessor?
As already mentioned, François Fourmont left Dacia and thus ended his great career. François was born on December 24, 1948. He has a higher economic education and a diploma of higher specialized education. Like his successor, he started his career at Renault. Initially, in 1975, he held a position in the Human Resources Department. From 1988 to 1998, he held various positions at the Sandouville and Le Mans factories, culminating in his appointment in July 2003 as CEO of the Dacia brand.
