Currently reading: Dacia Sandero claims European sales crown

Renault-owned Romanian brand's affordability-focused supermini takes the top spot for 2024

The Dacia Sandero was Europe’s best-selling car last year, the brand has claimed, with 309,392 examples leaving showrooms.

Citing provisional figures, Dacia said this was a 14.5% improvement on the 2023 total and meant the Sandero accounted for almost half of its 676,340 total sales tally.

It was also the first time the Renault-owned brand sold more than 300,000 examples of its affordability-focused supermini in a single year.

The Sandero was followed by the Duster SUV, which was Dacia's second best-seller in Europe with 215,024 sales across the second- and third-generation models.

The Jogger seven-seat estate completed the brand's podium with 96,440 sales. 

The electric Spring was last, with 22,884 sales – 63% down on 2023. Dacia said this was due to the withdrawal of government EV grants across Europe. 

Dacia said that six in 10 of its customers across France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK were not previously Renault Group buyers.

It added that 78% of buyers across all of Europe choose the highest possible level of equipment for their chosen car, with the proportion rising to 80% for the Duster.

The success gave Dacia a record share of 4.5% of the European car market – an improvement of 0.1% compared with 2023.

“Our results testify to customers' growing confidence in our models and confirm that we are pursuing our strategy,” said Dacia CEO Denis Le Vot.

This year will prove crucial in the success of that strategy, as Dacia enters the C-SUV segment – Europe’s largest for new car sales – in a bid for further growth.

It yesterday confirmed that its debut model in the class, the Bigster SUV, will be priced from £24,995 when it arrives later this year.

That means it undercuts many of its closest rivals by several thousands of pounds – a clear statement of intent by the brand.

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Charlie Martin

Charlie Martin Autocar
Title: Editorial assistant, Autocar

As part of Autocar’s news desk, Charlie plays a key role in the title’s coverage of new car launches and industry events. He’s also a regular contributor to its social media channels, providing videos for Instagram, Tiktok, Facebook and Twitter.

Charlie joined Autocar in July 2022 after a nine-month stint as an apprentice with sister publication What Car?, during which he acquired his gold-standard NCTJ diploma with the Press Association.

Charlie is the proud owner of a Fiat Panda 100HP, which he swears to be the best car in the world. Until it breaks.

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