The Duster will get more variants in the near future as a possible Oroch pickup truck is expected to debut later this year
The Duster has been a budget-friendly global phenomenon for Renault as well as Dacia. It drives the sales for Dacia in several international markets including the highly competitive European arena as Dacia and Renault Group Romania General Manager, Christophe Dridi calls it as an “ambassador for Romania”.
The Duster is being sold in 44 countries and is also the best-selling SUV in Europe for the company. The Mioveni-based Dacia is wary of that as the Duster will be playing a significant role in the $112 (Rs. 772 crore approximately) million investment plan announced recently.
As much as $28 million (Rs. 193 crore) comes from the government of Romania. The country seeks to increase local manufacturing of passenger cars by 50,000 units per annum and it will boost the overall output to 4,00,000 from later next year. A recent report indicates Christophe Dridi saying, “our ‘kid’ (Duster) should have some siblings”.
He did not go much into the details though but a pickup truck derivative of the Duster is likely in the works for late 2019 debut. The Euro-spec Duster Oroch will be produced in association with a coach-building company called Romturingia that made limited editions in the past.
A long-wheelbase version dubbed Grand Duster cannot be ruled out either but previously it was reported to have shelved due to cost reasons. To sustain the sales momentum and in response to the ever stringent emission standards, a plug-in hybrid variant could be introduced in the near future.
While the latest generation Duster sold elsewhere has long been anticipated to arrive in India, Renault has opted to go with another facelift as evident from the spy shots. It will have improved structural rigidity to comply with pedestrian safety regulations and the refreshed exterior and interior will extend the lifespan further.