Romanian automaker Dacia is said to be working on a new compact car, to be unveiled in the coming weeks.
The brand – which produces the Duster, sold in Australia as a Renault – has revealed the small car will be offered with both petrol and hybrid powertrains, while European markets will also gain a dual-fuel option with LPG.
“As we have seen with [the Dacia Bigster SUV], there is a clear demand in that segment to have affordable cars,” Dacia CEO Katrin Adt told media at the Brussels motor show earlier this month, Automotive New Europe reports.
“We want to play a role there.”
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Dacia vehicles are typically based on Renault platforms, but are offered as value alternatives to European new-car buyers – with the Bigster being the UK’s cheapest mid-size SUV.
While details of the new Dacia compact car have yet to be announced, it’s possible it will be closely related to the sixth-generation Renault Clio – unveiled in September 2025 at the Munich motor show.
The new Clio will initially be offered with a 1.2-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine – also available with dual-fuel (petrol and LPG) – and a 1.8-litre four-cylinder with hybrid technology, but little information is known about the forthcoming Dacia.
As with the previous-generation Clio, the new light car is based on the CMF-B platform – shared across the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance – that also underpins models like the Renault Duster, Mitsubishi ASX, Nissan Juke, and Dacia Bigster, among many others.
“We want to build on the success we have met with Bigster,” Dacia head of sales Frank Marotte told Automotive News Europe in Brussels.
However, given the small car segment continues to shrink in Australia, it’s unclear whether a compact Dacia would be offered here, where the Bigster seems unlikely to replace the Korean-sourced Koleos mid-size SUV.
Small existing Dacias also unlikely to be sold here include the Spring, Sandero, Sandero Stepway and Jogger.
