Duster will debut Dacia here

The Renault-owned Dacia brand will debut in Ireland next month with its crossover Duster, writes Brian Byrne, although the model and its sibling hatchback Sandero won't be available to buy until later in the year.

The move has been mooted for the last two years, and the Romanian carmaker's products are expected to be sold through Renault dealers in Ireland. However, the company so far says only that the brand will be sold through 'appointed dealers'.

The selected dealers will have Dusters on show in their premises from next month.

Dacia was established in 1966, building its own versions of the Renault 8 and Renault 12 under licence. Renault acquired the business in 1999, and in 2004 produced the Renault-designed Logan saloon, conceived to be one of the cheapest cars of its size on the market.

The Duster uses the same Nissan platform on which the Logan is placed and was launched in Europe in 2010, available in 2WD and 4WD versions. The likely powerplant for Ireland will be the 1.5 dCi diesel familiar in many models across Renault and Nissan ranges.

The Sandero is the hatchback version of the Logan.