Renault delays Dacia's UK launch

The French carmaker said the original plan to launch in 2009 would now be abandoned and it has had to cancel preview events for the brand in the UK and pull the Sandero off its stand at the British International Motor Show this month.

“It’s been put back to fulfil all the left-hand drive requests, which we’re already fulfilling” said a Renault spokesman. “Right-hand drive production will not be achieved at the Romanian site until 2010.” With Renault’s UK sales down 13.5 per cent year-on-year, the Sandero could have provided the boost the brand has needed, offering incremental volume and revenue to dealers. Last year the left-hand drive-only Dacia Logan generated a 68 per cent volume rise last year to 80,000 in western Europe.