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Dacia is feeling more competition than ever from China
► Dacia no longer alone at value end of market
► Faces increased competition from China and Stellantis
► C-segment proving more of a challenge than it thought
Dacia is feeling the pinch from Chinese competition as its larger models come up against similarly-priced rivals for the first time that threaten its value status.
The emergence of more Chinese car brands, which have so far largely targeted the most popular mid-size C-segment, has seen China-made models in this class, such as the Jaceoo 7 and MG HS, become regular fixtures in the list of best-selling cars in the UK.
While many other European markets still have a lower uptake of Chinese cars, the UK – driven by its current lack of tariffs on China-made cars compared to the EU and reduced brand loyalty – has seen sales of new Chinese brands grow rapidly.
It’s come at the expense of many established European carmakers, with Dacia registrations in the UK, for example, falling by 4.6 per cent in 2025 and in the first nine of months of 2026 they were down by a further five per cent, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
All this is despite Dacia introducing the Bigster as its first C-segment SUV in mid-2025, predicted to be a licence to print money at the time of its launch. Though popular in other European markets, and the best-selling C-SUV to retail customers across Europe, sales in the UK have been slower than anticipated.
Speaking at the Paris Motor Show, Katrin Adt, CEO of Dacia, said Dacia was trying to ‘run its own race’ but that the competition was tougher than ever.
Adt said: ‘We feel the competition and there are certain areas, especially when it comes to higher segments, that the Chinese manufacturers, well they’re in front of us.
‘Where we were alone [at the value end of the scale] for a long time, we aren’t any more.’
Such competition is likely the cause behind Dacia canning a third new C-segment car it planned to launch in 2027, which was set to join the Bigster and new Striker estate being introduced at the start of next year.
The Dacia CEO said its biggest competition was Chinese OEMs and Stellantis, which has set about introducing many cheaper cars from Fiat and Citroen especially in recent years, and said ‘we are comparing ourselves to a large extent’.
Despite this, Adt remains committed to offering the ‘best value for money on the market’. Recent price cuts for hybrid Duster and Bigster models will help with this, but Adt said ‘you cannot only compare the purchase price of the car’ to rival brands, but rather look at the total cost of ownership.
‘If you see our residual values, we are 14 points up on the average of the industry. We have the highest residual values of the industry.
‘We have a very reliable service network, and we make good-quality cars. We have a high repairability. If you take that all and all together, it’s difficult to copy our model, and it’s still the best value for money that you can get.’
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