S.C. Automobile Dacia S.A., commonly known as Dacia, is a Romanian car manufacturer that takes its name from the historical region that constitutes present-day Romania.

The company was established in 1966. In 1999, after 33 years, the Romanian government sold Dacia to the French car manufacturer Groupe Renault. It is Romania's largest company by revenue and the largest exporter, constituting 8% of the country's total exports in 2018. 

In 2021, the Dacia marque sold 537.074 passenger and commercial vehicles.

From January 2021 onwards the Dacia company became part of Renault's Dacia-Lada business unit. In May 2022, Renault sold Lada's parent company AvtoVAZ to Russian state-owned institute NAMI.

Romania didn’t want to depend on Russian vehicles, and therefore, it decided to launch its own brand. The factory had been up and running since 1943, when it was used to make parts for the aviation industry. Switching to the automotive segment wasn’t easy, but by 1968, when production started, the entire process was already completed. The initial contract was for another vehicle, the Renault 12, but since that model wasn’t launched yet, UAP started with the licensed-built Renault 8. UAP stands for the Uzina de Automobile Pitesti (Pitesti Automobile Factory), and the chosen brand was Dacia, the ancient name of the Romanian territory. The first batches were made from complete knocked-down kits (CKD) to help workers understand the process and ease their jobs when the next automobile was about to start production.

1100

The Dacia 1100 was the first passenger car of the Romanian car brand Dacia. The 1100 (Renault R8) is a rear-engined, rear-wheel drive small family car produced by the French manufacturer Renault in the 1960s and early 1970s. It also formed the basis for the larger Renault 10, introduced in 1965.

In the early days, all parts of the assembly version of the R8 came from import deliveries. In Pitești, the supplied body parts are assembled and painted. This was followed by the completion and final assembly with original parts. In total 37.546 Dacia 1100s were built.

While its French sibling was available in a choice of engines, the 1100 was sold with the 1.1-liter version of the Cleont-Fonte powerplant shared with other vehicles from Renault’s lineup. Its 46 PS  was sent to the rear wheels via a four-speed manual transmission. Later, the automaker produced the S version, featuring different carburetors, producing 65 PS. Dacia made just 100 units of them, 50 allocated to the police forces (the Militia) and the other 50 for designated race drivers.

The Romanian government of the 1960s had decided to acquire the tooling and basic design of a western car to decrease Romania's reliance on imported consumer goods. Terms stated that the vehicle had to be inexpensive, large enough for a family, and powered by an engine displacing not more than 1.3 litres. Offers came from Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Austin, DKW, Peugeot among others, but the winner was the Renault 12. The choice of a French design was not only political but also technical; Romania was attempting to cultivate economic relationships with Western Europe, particularly France, and to demonstrate its economic capabilities.

1300

The Dacia 1300) is a medium-sized family car based on the Renault 12 that was built during the Cold War by Romanian auto maker Dacia. The "1300" stands for the engine displacement. The first Dacia 1300 left the assembly line on 23 August 1969. On 21 July 2004, the last Dacia 1310 (sedan version), number 1 959 730, rolled out the gates of the Mioveni production facility, just one month before its 35th anniversary.

The 1301, the luxury version of the 1300, went into production in 1970. The estate version, Dacia 1300 Break, went into production in 1973, and in 1975, the Dacia 1302, a pickup truck derived from the 1300 platform, was introduced.

The 1300 was subject to multiple facelifts in an effort to maintain consumers' interest in the model, but the basic design was kept for its entire 35-year lifespan.

The model scored solid sale numbers right up to its last day of production, mainly due to its low price, value for money, and easy and inexpensive maintenance.

1310

The Dacia 1310 is a family of automobiles produced and sold exclusively by Dacia between 1979 and the beginning of 1999, and from 1999 to 2006 jointly by the French manufacturer Renault and its Romanian subsidiary Dacia. In 1979, Dacia presented the 1310 model at the Bucharest Auto Show as the successor of the Dacia 1300. Together with the Dacia 1300, a total of 2.278.691 units were produced, the last sedan being manufactured on July 21, 2004, and the last pick-up truck in December 2006. In the same year, its successor, the Dacia Logan, was launched.

It was produced, like the Dacia 1300, in two body variants, sedan and estate, but was also available in hatchback (Dacia 1320 and Dacia 1325 Liberta, produced between 1988 and 1996), pick-up (the Dacia Pick-Up range, produced between 1975 and 2006), and coupé variants (Sport version, largely handmade in small numbers between 1981 and 1992).

The 1320 model was replaced in 1991 by the Dacia 1325 Liberta (after the 1989 revolution, themes of liberty were very much in fashion) and stayed in production until 1996.

All the Dacia range received the new front end of the 1320, called CN1. The cars of 1992 to 1994 are curiosities.

The 1994 facelift was known within the industry as CN2. A reprojected front end was distinguished by a horizontal metal line in the grille. There were new headlamps, a new radiator grille, and front and rear bumpers. Inside, there was a new dashboard for the base models, while the top-of-the-range cars had luxuries such as body-coloured bumpers, rear head restraints, a radio-cassette, hubcaps, and the ever-present CN1 dashboard, this time in black plastic. This model was not to stay in production for very long; in 1995 the CN3 type was introduced. Practically the only differences were those of trim level and the radiator grille.

1325 liberta

“Liberta” refers to a hatchback-shaped derivative based on the Dacia 1310. A total of two generations were sold from 1987 to 1996, and the specification was designed to attract a younger customer base targeting the Soviet Union's Lada Samara and Czech Republic's Skoda vehicles, but it did not gain much popularity due to its high price range and low production quality, and was released in 1996. It was discontinued before other specifications.

Passenger cars such as Lada Samara and Skoda Pavorit were used as competing vehicles, but they were sold without solving defects from the beginning of the launch, and the interior finish was poor. The vehicle's top speed was 140 km/h.
As for the powertrain , a 1.3L 8-valve OHV I4 engine was installed, with an output of 54 horsepower and a maximum torque of 95Nm. In addition, a 4-speed/5-speed manual transmission was installed. It was a front-wheel drive vehicle with an empty vehicle weight of 920kg .
It was discontinued in 1990 , and was replaced by the Dacia 1325 in 1991 .

2000

Between 1979 and 1985, the then state-owned Romanian manufacturer Dacia produced a small number of Renault 20s under the name Dacia 2000, reserved entirely for the dignitaries and secret police of the Communist government led by Nicolae Ceauşescu. 

As a powertrain, a 1.6L gasoline I4 engine was installed, Bosch technology was applied, and a 4-speed transmission produced an output of 90 horsepower, and a 1.9L I4 engine + 5-speed transmission produced an output of 110 horsepower. It also had a 2.2L I4 engine and produced 115 horsepower. A carburetor was produced for the 1.6L and 1.9L specifications, and a direct injection type for the 2.2L specification.

Since it was used as a vehicle for high-class officials such as party officials, power windows, cruise control, an ashtray with lights, air conditioning, power steering, audio, and an on-board computer were applied, and high-quality gasoline was used as fuel.

It was made in only 2 colors, black or dark blue.

lăstun

The Dacia 500 Lăstun was a small city car manufactured by Tehnometal, Timișoara, under the auto marque Dacia. The name derives from the Romanian for house martin, a small bird related to swallows.

The Lăstun was a low-cost Romanian car for urban transport built between 1988 and 1991, featuring a two-cylinder air-cooled engine of 499 cc, producing 22.5 PS.  The car had a maximum speed of 106 km/h and fiberglass bodywork similar to the Lancia Y10.

Production continued until 1992. Due to its size, the Lăstun was primarily a city car, suitable for use as a second car. In 1989 cars received side lights, and in 1991 the Lăstun was lightly restyled to the front, the only modification being a new bonnet with a one-piece grille.

Tehnometal manufactured a total of 6532 vehicles.

nova

The Dacia Nova is a subcompact/supermini car manufactured by Romanian auto maker Dacia from 1995 to 2000. The Dacia Nova was the first in-house developed Dacia model and it was intended to complement the Renault 12-based "Berlina" (Sedan) and "Break" (Estate) range, with a small liftback/fastback.

The liftback/fastback body housed a transversely mounted, front-engined, front-wheel-drive layout, offering five doors and five seats. The engine was the old Cléon-based unit from the rest of the Dacia range, although the 1.6l GT version was fuel injected with a Bosch MonoMotronic in 1998 (hence GTi).

Although more modern in every way than the classic Dacia range, bodywork quality was generally worse, there was less boot space and the Nova was more expensive. All these combined ensured that the Nova was never a bestseller in the Dacia family and not many examples survive today. It was replaced by the SupeRNova in the year 2000.

the last

In September 1999, Dacia became the third brand of the Renault group, with a view to making Romania its hub of automobile development in Central and Eastern Europe, and investment was consequently increased. The first sign of this came in 2000, with the introduction of the SupeRNova, an improved version of the Nova with engine and transmission from Renault. The top-of-the range version had air conditioning, electric windows and a CD player. Sales were very good, although the outdatedness of the concept was striking. Dacia sold 53,000 vehicles in 2002, an almost 50 per cent market share in Romania.

In 2003, a restyled version replaced the SupeRNova with Dacia Solenza, featuring a new interior, the options for an airbag. This was, however, only meant to be a stopgap model filling the need for a saloon model before the introduction of the all-important Dacia Logan, as well as to familiarise workers with the demands of manufacturing a model acceptable to Western European markets. Production was stopped in 2005.

logan

The Dacia Logan is a family of automobiles produced and marketed jointly by the French manufacturer Renault and its Romanian subsidiary Dacia since mid-2004, and was the successor to the Dacia 1310 and Dacia Solenza. It has been produced as a sedan, station wagon, and as a pick-up. It has been manufactured at Dacia's automobile plant in Mioveni, Romania, and at Renault (or its partners') plants in Morocco, Brazil, Argentina, Turkey, Russia, Colombia, Iran and India. The pick-up has also been produced at Nissan's plant in Rosslyn, South Africa.

It has also been marketed as the Renault Logan, Nissan Aprio, Mahindra Verito, Renault L90, Lada Largus (the MCV), Nissan NP200 (the pick-up), Renault Symbol (Mk3), Renault Taliant, and as the Renault Tondar 90 depending on the existing presence or positioning of the Renault brand.

Since its launch, the Dacia Logan is estimated to have reached over 4 million sales worldwide.

sandero

The Dacia Sandero is a subcompact car/supermini (B-segment) car produced and marketed jointly by the French manufacturer Renault and its Romanian subsidiary Dacia since 2007, currently at its third generation. It has been also marketed as the Renault Sandero in certain markets, such as Russia, Latin America, Iran, Egypt, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

With a slightly shorter wheelbase than the Dacia Logan sedan from which it derives, the Sandero was developed at Renault's Technocentre near Paris, France, in conjunction with the regional engineering centres based in Brazil and Romania.

The second generation Sandero was revealed by Dacia at the 2012 Paris Motor Show. The new Stepway variant was also presented. 

The third generation of Dacia Sandero and Sandero Stepway was launched together with the new Dacia Logan III, on 29 September 2020. The third-generation Sandero is exclusively available with three-cylinder engines. The entry-level one is a naturally aspirated 1.0-litre with 65 hp and a 5-speed manual. The top-end trims received a turbocharged 1.0-litre with 90 hp  and a choice between a 6-speed manual or CVT. The more powerful version of the engine, badged as ECO-G 100 Bi-Fuel received 100 hp and a 6-speed manual transmission.

sandrider

The Dacia Sandrider is an off-road competition car, built by Dacia together with Prodrive to participate in various competitions in the rally raid. It has been used in the FIA Ultimate T1+ class since the end of 2024, replacing the Prodrive Hunter that it was based on.

The Sandrider is visually based on the Dacia Manifesto SUV concept car, but was technically developed by Prodrive together with Renault-Alpine and Dacia from the previously successful Prodrive Hunter.

The Nissan VR30DDTT engine  is a 3.0-liter twin turbocharged V6,  generating a maximum power output of 405 PS at 6400 rpm and 475 N⋅m of torque at 1600 to 5600 rpm with a redline of 6800 rpm. 

The Dacia Sandrider consists of a carbon body on a tubular frame chassis with a reinforced subframe and reinforced shock absorbers and suspension with double wishbones. It has a sequential 6-speed gearbox and permanent four-wheel drive on 37×12.5 R17 BF Goodrich and 350 mm suspension travel.

Dacia competes with three vehicles in the 2025 Dakar Rally and in the entire 2025 World Rally-Raid Championship season. Al-Attiyah, Loeb and Gutiérrez continue as drivers