The third—generation Duster recently debuted under the Dacia brand – these machines will be produced in Romania for the European market. But there will also be a Renault-branded version: the first images of such a crossover have only been published now. And although there are few details about the car itself yet, it is the Duster that will mark the beginning of the next stage of large-scale production changes at Renault.
Dacia Duster for Europe
As is already known, the Renaulution strategy implies a rapid transition to the production of electric vehicles in Europe. It is becoming unprofitable to produce cars with internal combustion engines here, but Renault is not going to completely abandon them — and therefore they are moving the production center from France to Turkey.
The local joint venture Oyak Renault has been operating for 54 years and has produced more than 7.5 million cars during this time, and now a new mission will fall on its shoulders. Turkey should become the main exporter of Renault cars outside the European Union. 400 million euros will be spent on expanding production until 2027. Currently, Oyak Renault produces only two models — the Clio hatchback and the Megane sedan, but in the next four years four new cars will be registered at the plant in Bursa. Three of them are Class B and C crossovers. Each will have a hybrid version with a locally produced powerplant, and the company intends to export the largest C-crossover to 50 countries.
The Renault Duster crossover will be the first car of the promised four — its production in Turkey will begin in the second half of 2024. There are no details about the car itself yet. Rather, it is not clear how exactly the Duster under the Renault brand will differ from the European Dacia Duster model. Except for the emblems and nameplates, of course. The first published images show that the radiator grille has been changed, and instead of a branded diamond, it bears a large brand name.
The Turkish Duster will have a hybrid version, but there is no information about the power plants yet. The European Dacia Duster has hybrid (140 hp), petrol (130 hp) and gas (100 hp) versions. All the details will come later.