The currently produced Dacia Logans will be updated with a new generation of vehicles, known as “project X52”, according to Ziarul Financiar. Carmaker Renault, the owner of Romania's producer Dacia, launched the Logan in 2004, driving Romania up the rankings car manufacturers in Europe. In eight years, Dacia has become an export growth engine for Romania, accounting for eight percent of the country' exports.

The mark Logan also carried the Dacia name all over the world, but was overtaken in sales by the newer Dacia Duster. Renault launched the Lodgy earlier in March at the Geneva car show. The new Lodgy model is not manufactured in Romania, but in Morocco.

The signal for the future launch of Logan 2 was given by the modernization of the production lines in the Mioveni factory, according to local media.

According to Jerome Stoll, the sales director of Renault, the new Logan model will be launched on the market at the end of this year or the beginning of the next. Renault has been fairly quiet about the Logan 2, currently focusing on the Dacia Lodgy model.

Renault turned Dacia into an international brand and raised production in Pitesti from 86,000 vehicles in 1999 to over 340,000 in 2010. Dacia sold 343,000 cars worldwide last year.

Ioana Toader, ioana.toader@romania-insider.com