Car maker Automobile Dacia sold 80,000 cars abroad in the first quarter of the year, with France being the main export destination, according to Jerome Olive, general manager of the firm in Romania (in pic), quoted by Mediafax newswire.

Last year, Dacia's main export destination was Germany, due to the car replacement program which started in the country, but which didn't continue this year. Exports in Italy and Germany were followed by Algeria, Spain, Morocco and Poland. Romania remains a weak market for Dacia sales wise, which is a problem for the company, according to Jerome Olive.

Renault group has invested EUR 1.5 billion in Romania so far, and the Dacia Duster project required EUR 73 million to design and build.

The Dacia Duster model was revealed at the beginning of March at the Geneva car show. The model is sold for prices starting at EUR 10,500 in Romania.