Romanian car brand Dacia makes impressive entry in European SUV market with Bigster model

The first sales figures from two of the largest European markets, France and Germany, both major markets for the Dacia brand, show that the debut of the carmaker's largest SUV, the Bigster, has been impressive.

June data on car registrations in Germany show that the Dacia Bigster managed to sell 1,227 units in its second full month on the market. The figures are higher than those of the Kia Sportage, Ford Kuga, or Cupra Tavascan, and also higher than the Renault Austral’s, and very close to those of the Nissan Qashqai.

In total, Bigster has already registered 3,000 vehicles in Germany, figures that can be considered a success for a model in only its second month on the market.

The situation is even better in France, where registration data show that 2,386 Bigster units were sold in June, already surpassing the Kia Sportage, which has been on the market all six months, and the Hyundai Tucson. It also came very close to the Renault Austral, already a star in the local C-SUV segment. The only model with higher sales than the Bigster in its segment was the Peugeot 3008.

The Bigster has already surpassed the Jogger in France (2,067 Jogger units) and is closing in on its sales in Germany (1,305 Jogger units), challenging the position of the Duster (1,698 units in Germany and 4,121 units in France). In total, since the beginning of the year, Dacia Bigster has registered 5,836 units in France, representing about half of its European sales.

According to data analyzed by Profit.ro, Dacia Bigster has registered approximately 15,000 units in Europe in the first six months of this year, already becoming one of the best-selling models in the C-SUV segment.

Dacia is targeting a volume of up to 100,000 units per year in the coming years, accounting for 30–40% of the output from the Dacia plant in Mioveni, in southern Romania. The brand is betting on the Bigster's low price and its huge luggage space.

The C-SUV segment has an annual volume of about 3 million vehicles sold.

According to Dacia CEO Denis le Vot, out of 100 Bigster customers, only 20 come from Renault or Dacia. That means “an 80% conquest rate from other brands. And from Duster, it's just 15%, which is correct and good; it’s not 50%. That proves the concept was clear. If I want to buy a Duster, I buy a Duster. If I want a Bigster, I choose a Bigster,” he said.

The Dacia chief also explained that 80% of orders are for the top version, the 1.8-liter hybrid.