Dacia Bigster: Renault Group targets more than one million units per year

In January, during the presentation of the Renault Group’s new strategic plan, known as Renaulution, we were introduced to the Dacia Bigster Concept. This prototype previewed both Dacia’s new identity and its future flagship: a 4.6-metre-long SUV - substantially larger than the Duster - positioned in the C segment.

Moving Dacia into a segment above its current territory was clearly not ambitious enough. In comments to Automotive News, Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo indicated that the Bigster will make a far broader contribution to the group’s fortunes, rather than benefiting Dacia alone.

De Meo intends to lessen the group’s reliance on small B-segment cars and shift its “centre of gravity” towards larger C-segment vehicles, where both prices and profit margins are higher.

We therefore know that further models will stem from the Dacia Bigster, for both Russia’s Lada brand and Renault itself. They are expected to share around 85% of their components, while still promising to be distinct from one another, even if they will not all be sold in the same markets.

Dacia Bigster and the CMF-B platform

Despite the generous proportions of the SUV and the other planned vehicles, the production version of the Dacia Bigster Concept will use the Alliance’s CMF-B platform. This is the same architecture found beneath the new compact Dacia Sandero and, for instance, the Renault Clio.

From Russia with love

Alongside the Dacia Bigster, which will indirectly replace the role currently occupied by the Dacia Lodgy, there will be another model certain to attract considerable attention: a new Lada Niva. Dacia and Lada are now part of the same business unit, so greater co-ordination between the two manufacturers will be seen from now on.

The future Lada Niva, expected to arrive in 2024, was previewed by the sketch above. As can be seen, it will have a very distinctive identity, closely based on the current veteran Niva. Launched in 1977, it remains in production despite receiving several evolutions and improvements over the decades.

Will it retain the historic model’s off-road ability? Luca de Meo promises that it will, at the very least, offer greater capability than the other SUVs planned within this group: improved off-road angles, a transmission with specific gearing, and an emphasis on simplicity and practicality.

Two Lada Niva models are planned

The developments will not end there. Two models are expected to wear the Niva name and, given their “European” underpinnings, they will also be sold across the rest of Europe. The current model has only a token presence, with very few examples imported each year. De Meo says it will not be a high-volume vehicle, but it could occupy a highly profitable niche.

The other “Bigster” models

In total, seven models are planned to derive from the Bigster, spread across Dacia, Lada and Renault. In Renault’s case, the model version or versions are expected to be sold in specific markets, such as South America and India, with none expected to reach continental Europe.

The planned approach will not be greatly different from that already employed for the Dacia Duster. In Europe, it is known as the Dacia Duster, but in other markets, including South America, it is sold as a Renault. There is even a Renault Duster Oroch pick-up, sold in Brazil. In certain Asian markets, it is also marketed as the Nissan Terrano. Sales exceeded 400,000 units in 2019 and reached 270,000 in 2020 - a decline caused by the pandemic - while production takes place in five countries.

For the Dacia Bigster, the target is more ambitious, with Luca de Meo aiming to sell more than one million units per year.