Romanian carmaker Dacia, which is part of French group Renault, sold over 550,000 cars worldwide in 2015, up by 7.7& compared to 2014, thus setting a new company record.

The company’s top three models, Sandero, Duster, and Logan, each sold over 100,000 units last year.

Dacia’s sales in Romania went up by almost a quarter compared to 2014, reaching almost 37,000 vehicles. The company thus consolidated its market leader position as almost one in three cars sold in 2015 in Romania were Dacias.

The brand’s sales also increased in the foreign markets, reaching almost 514,000 units, up by 6% compared to 2014. About three-quarters of the total sales were in Europe.

France remained Dacia’s biggest market, with more than 100,000 units sold. The Romanian carmaker ranked fifth in France with a market share of 4.36% while its Sandero model was the ninth best-selling model in France, according to the company’s data.

Spain was the second-biggest export market for Dacia with 55,000 vehicles sold and a market share of 4.6%. Germany was third, with 47,400 units, and Italy came a close fourth, with 46,800 units.

Dacia’s sales in the UK also registered a strong growth in 2015, reaching 26,300 units, which makes this the eighth biggest external market for the company.

Turkey, Algeria, and Morocco were Dacia’s biggest markets outside the EU.

Dacia has a factory in Mioveni, near Pitesti, in Romania. Dacia is also produced in Renault’s plant in Tangier, in Morocco.

Romanian Dacia’s sales in Europe go up by 5% in 2015

Andrei Chirileasa, andrei@romania-insider.com