Dacia - a year on

A year ago, Dacia launched on the Irish market. Arriving in the midst of a recession would normally be seen as very bad timing, but not so with the Romanian car maker.

With its catchphrase of "shockingly affordable cars", Dacia instantly caught the attention of the Irish motorist.

Dacia's family crossover the Duster has been a big hit with its low, supermini pricing.

The Sandero hatchback represents excellent value coming with a price tag from a segment below.

Dacia tells us that since launching a year ago, almost 1,000 orders have been placed for the Duster and Sandero, with the brand taking 1.5% of the retail passenger car market in just a year.

Duster is the sixth best-selling model in its segment and Sandero is achieving a 2.3% share in the supermini segment.

Dacia's model range in Ireland will be expanded later this summer with the arrival of the Logan MCV and in 2014 the Sandero Stepway will launch here.

The Logan will be available in a 1.2-litre, 16V, 75hp petro;, a TCe 90hp petrol and a 1.5 dCi 90hp diesel.

Dacia claims to be Ireland's fastest growing network with 25 dealerships around the country, most recent additions including Linders' in Finglas, Michael Grant in Sandymount, Bradleys' in Galway, Hogans' in Ennis, and JJ Burke's in Mayo.