Romanian car maker Dacia, owned by French Renault, upped its sales by 19 percent last year, to some 430,000 units.

France continued to be Dacia's main market, with 93,000 units sold in Renault's home country. Sales in Romania were up by 12.4 percent, to some 24,000 cars.

Dacia's sales increase came during a tough time for the car market, which has seen a decline, said Thomas Dubruel, commercial director for Renault in Romania.

Over 290,000 new Dacia cars were registered last year in European countries, resulting in a market share of 2.1 percent.

In France, Dacia ranks fifth among car market, with the model Sandero on the third position on sales to individuals. Germany was the second market for Dacia, with 47,000 units sold, and a market share of 1.5 percent. The car maker sold 30,000 units each in Algiers, Turkey, Spain and Morocco. In Spain, the model Sandero ranks first on sales to individuals.

UK was market for 13,000 Dacia units, with Duster and Sandero models selling there. Back home, Dacia Logan Berlina was the best sold model last year, with 10,000 units, followed by Sandero - including Stepway - with 4,700 units, and Duster – 4.600 units.

editor@romania-insider.com