2022 is the year of change for Dacia! New logo, new signage, and new universe nothing less. This is an opportunity to take stock of the challenge awaiting the design boss of the low-cost brand, a defector from Aston Martin.
From the first Dacia Logan born in 2004 to the latest generation of Sandero launched in 2020, the design of the only low-cost brand on the market has been transformed. No other automaker has shown such an aesthetic evolution.
It is true that the cost-breaking Romanian sedan of the beginning of the 21st century was the rustic Dacia Nova, the first model that really managed to free itself from the Dacia 1310, in other words the rebadged Renault 12 of the Carpathians. At the time, the style was really in the background, because the strong argument of the Logan was its promised price of €5,000. And even if it finally climbed to 7,500 €, in Western Europe, this frail budget envelope did not leave it to the stylists to refine the lines like the details, it was necessary to confine oneself to the essentials.
Then, with success, the support of the Renault group reassuring the most skeptical in terms of reliability, the Romanian brand has since continued to have more and more free rein in terms of design. Today, Dacias must obviously remain attractive with their price, but they must also seduce with their look while integrating the safe and ecological technology imposed by the legislation.
TO READ. Dacia Logan 3. Available for sale in France outside the network
A design boss who does the splits!
Smart and efficient, the design of the brand, under the leadership of Miles Nürnberger since September 2021, will take a new turn with the watchwords of simplicity and authenticity. According to the Dacia styling boss, who previously exercised his talents for 14 years, at the other end of the automotive spectrum, at Aston Martin: ” the particularity of the Dacia design is obvious”. He indicates “the vocation of each model is clearly identifiable at first sight. Duster is a “real” adventurer, Jogger is a “real” family. Dacia’s philosophy is to defend a very pragmatic vision of the automobile that meets the essential needs of customers.”.
TO READ. Dacia. Miles Nürnberger, new design director
Frugal design?
Miles Nürnberger explains “At Dacia, what you see is what you get” and add “Defining in advance what is or will be essential on a future model marketed three or four years later and refusing to do more and more imposes strong choices in terms of design. You have to have a pure, almost fundamental creative approach.” Let us cite, for example, trade-offs such as that of the sunroof for which, according to the brand’s surveys, customers do not feel the need for equipment that requires redefining the roof reinforcements and therefore modifying the structure of the vehicle. This is why the manufacturer does not offer any and achieves additional savings. Miles Nürnberger concluded “Dacia is a challenge. You must be really frugal. At Aston Martin, you have a low investment but a high purchase price. With Dacia it’s the opposite. But things don’t get any easier! “.
TO READ. Dacia Jogger, Sandero, Duster… the 2022 range will change its face
Praise less is more
Another parameter to take into account is the durability and timelessness of the design because at Dacia the life cycle is different.
““We’re talking about real design, not outdated style. That’s good, our customers keep their car for a long time. We must put the emphasis in the right place, where it is visible for the customer, where it is useful. Nothing else.” Miles Nürnberger“
Finally, the world of Dacia is full of tricks such as modular roof bars, protective skis under the shields tinted in the mass, to save paint and remain insensitive to scratches. Note that in the future, logically on the future Dacia Duster 3 from 2024, the brand will use recycled plastic for the gray and grainy parts, this was started on the Dacia Bigster concept car. Another way to save money, the removal of reported logos as for example on the tailgate with stamped lettering instead.
