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The current Sandero was launched in 2020 and updated in 2022
The next generation Dacia Sandero will retain its conventional hatchback shape, even if it gets an electric option and is restyled with influences from the rugged Duster and Bigster SUVs.
The next generation Sandero in 2027 will be a heavy evolution of the current car and will remain on top of the Renault Group’s CMF-B architecture – allowing it to retain combustion power while adding an electric option.
Speaking to Autocar at the Brussels Motor Show, Dacia design boss David Durand acknowledged that while the brand’s design language is increasingly off-road influenced by its ruggedness and utilitarianism, there are no plans for Dacia to become a purely SUV brand. won’t be giving the Sandero an overtly rugged makeover and a suspension lift for its second outing.
“It is true that the outdoor and very strong formal language fit together perfectly, but nothing is forbidden, and I think that something that is important for us and for the Sandero is not to show off too much. It’s a very serious and well-made car, and it suits a lot of those types of customers.
“It is not so easy to innovate on every body type, and the hatchback is very familiar to customers, and this is what they need: a car with a lot of space, which is really part of Dacia’s DNA, and which is compact . at the same time because it is easy to park, easy to drive, not too heavy and not too high consumption. So the hatch is the right solution.
“We also have to deal with CO2 emissions, so aerodynamics [are important]and we are taking all of that into account to continue to tick the box that this very essential and central car in our range covers.”
Requested or Dacia will make the Sandero a mini SUV like the new Citroen C3, Durand said: “No. Redesign of course, but the body type is a hatch.”
He added that the higher-riding, off-road-flavored Sandero Stepway is seen as an almost completely separate model from the standard Sandero and that it is important to maintain that distinction into the next generation.
“We noticed that Sandero owners don’t hesitate about the Stepway. They come to buy a Sandero, and people who come for the Stepway don’t think about Sandero at all. So we talk to different people, and so we have to take everyone into account and understand that some people just need a good car and don’t want to show off too much.”
Asked whether Dacia could consider distinguishing the two model lines more openly, he said: “We could have a separate Stepway or more differentiation between the two cars, but the fact that we use a lot of common parts between the two cars and that we actually use the same basis is also part of the ingredients to keep costs low. We could say ‘okay, we’re going to make two different cars’, but we’re going to have to double the investment, and people are going to have to pay for it in the end.”
Durand also suggested that the electric Sandero will not look substantially different from the petrol car, saying: “I think EV can just be a powertrain. It’s not like you need a special design just because you’re an EV.”
He declined to be inspired by when the next Sandero would break cover, but hinted at the possibility of a concept being shown before the final production design – but that probably won’t happen this year.
Speaking more broadly about the evolution of Dacia design, Durand acknowledged that other brands are using similar themes of utilitarianism and ruggedness in their attempt to make cars more attractive, but for less money. He said he is confident Dacia’s cars will remain distinctive.
“I’m not too concerned,” he said, “because this position that we have built over a long time is not just about design and product; there is also a big infrastructure behind it. It leverages the assets of a group, and it is the The story we have built with our Romanian past is therefore not so easy to copy.
“There’s also a corporate culture about designing for cost, how to design for cost, how to reduce the number of parts and the way we consult with our suppliers; it’s not all that easy to just say ‘ let’s do it’.
“This is also something that is strong in our brand: it has a story, it comes from somewhere. It is the result of a long process.”
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