Car manufacturers from all over the world are facing
stricter emissions rules. Some have already upgraded their powertrains with new
technologies to make them friendlier to the environment, whereas others (most
of them, actually) have gone down the electrification route.
Dacia, which has been owned by Renault for the past
two decades, has done neither of the above. As a result, it could face some
serious fines in Europe if it doesn’t do anything about it soon. So, what should
they do? Bloomberg reports that a hybrid SUV appears to be under consideration
and it should help the Romanian brand lower its overall carbon dioxide
emissions.
For now, nobody outside Dacia knows anything else,
but the news outlet spoke to Renault’s chief of sales, Olivier Murguet, who
believes the electric revolution is inevitable for the budget car brand. “It’s
hard to imagine that Dacia would remain on the sidelines of the movement”, said
Murguet.
Electrifying the Duster seems like the easiest way
to bring Dacia into the modern era of car-making, and they could already be on
this track, given the mysterious prototype scooped earlier this year by our spy
photographers. However, that one was actually a battery-electric race car and
not a hybrid, so who knows, maybe Dacia is taking a step beyond the expected
approach. They would also benefit from Renault-Nissan’s expertise in the field.
If we were to take a guess, we wouldn’t rule out an electric model launching in
the next few years.
