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Dacia’s industrial feat to revamp its vehicles’ brand identity

24 hours: that’s how long it took Dacia to pull off an industrial tour-de-force. It switched all its models, at its three plants in Pitesti, Tangier and Casablanca, to its new brand identity at the same time. That’s 3,100 vehicles in a day! Dacia pulled off this one-of-a-kind industrial challenge because its organisation is agile and did it while keeping the quality of its vehicles flawless. It took over a year of meticulous preparation and coordination across all its departments. Christophe Dridi, Dacia’s VP Industry, tells us more about this metamorphosis.

Le 23 May 2023

Manufacturing a vehicle involves a comprehensive and complex production process, but Dacia nonetheless managed to switch its full range to its new brand identity at the same time. And it accomplished it in record time, at the same time, and at three different plants: Pitesti in Romania and Casablanca and Tangier in Morocco. This is how the brand radically revamped its image and switched to a new identity conveying its commitments for the future and the values underlying them. This new brand identity strategy is Dacia’s first step in the Renaulution. It tackled several sizeable challenges, ranging from parts logistics to employee training and on to its dealership network.

To understand how the vehicles rolling off production lines on Monday morning featured the new Dacia Link emblem on the grille – for example – even though the ones emerging just 24 hours earlier were still “old versions”, let’s take a look behind the scenes at these Dacia plants that made the impossible possible.


“We believe this is the first time an automotive company has revamped its entire range, at three plants, at the same time. It goes to show how flexible and how agile Dacia really is.”

Christophe Dridi, VP Industry, Dacia

Chapter 1: the industrial challenge

At these three Dacia plants in Pitesti, Tangier and Casablanca, one vehicle rolls off production lines every 50 seconds. In all, 3,100 vehicles a day had to feature the new brand livery. That is how many vehicles it had to switch starting at 9 am on Monday 24 October 2022 when the cars reached the line and the new parts were there to be fitted onto them.

Changing the visual identity across the entire range, in a single day, was a necessary condition for the success of the project. The new components were registered in advance in the IT systems, which were all switched over on Monday morning to eliminate the risk of errors and ensure a successful transition without compromising on quality. The logistics areas were also adapted to accommodate the new parts and avoid mixing with the old references.

Chapter 2: the logistics challenge

Switching to the new brand identity also involved a sizeable logistics challenge: altering all the models – Duster, Sandero Logan and Jogger – in the three plants, at the same time, on a very tight development and production schedule. The logistics team had to handle 190 new products from 57 different suppliers, including the logo, new emblem and new colours. And do it during a spare-parts and raw-material shortage, meaning that the team had to take on the additional challenge of making up for delays and making sure all the parts met the agreed standards.


“We pulled it off in style because our teams’ organisation, dedication and commitment were exemplary. All the pre-production vehicles were delivered on time and production started on schedule. Every time we spot a new vehicle on the road, we are proud that we played a part in the success of the launch and in earning our customers’ satisfaction.”

Ileana-Florentina Botea, Logistics Project Manager

Chapter 3: the training challenge

Another reason this radical change worked was the extraordinary teamwork by the 20,000 people in the three Dacia plants. These dedicated women and men in touch with the shop floor rose to all the challenges, moving fast while following the full development and industrial production procedure.

Operators were trained while a substantial production plan was being rolled out. This is how they managed to keep production going seamlessly while meeting uncompromising quality standards, from the first day.


"We prepared this switch for a year: we anticipated all the issues associated with supply chains, training and quality. It was thanks to the coordination across all departments that we managed to phase in the new brand identity on Monday morning without any significant impacts on production. That’s remarkable!”

Stefan Stanca, Engineering Project Manager

Chapter 4: the sales and marketing challenge

The sales and marketing challenge had to do with customers’ expectations: we had to start taking orders before the new brand identity had reached production plants.

This industrial feat and the new brand identity carry Dacia’s messages and make it even more appealing than before. This is a new beginning for the brand that is rewriting the rules all the time!


"We were all looking forward to starting the production of the vehicles with this new and very successful identity that left no one indifferent. We managed to synchronise the three factories for an on-time start. It is a source of pride for all the employees!”

Mohammed DAHOU-FRAJ, Head of the Projects Department Morocco

Grégoire Vitry

Head of product communication Dacia

 

Aurélie André

Dacia Press Officer

Born in 1968 then launched throughout Europe and the Mediterranean region in 2004, Dacia has always offered cars with the best value for money, while constantly redefining that which is essential. A disruptive brand, Dacia designs vehicles that are simple, versatile, reliable, and that suit the lifestyles of its customers. Dacia models have become market benchmarks: Logan, a new car at second-hand prices; Sandero, the best-selling private car in Europe every year since 2017; Duster, the most sold SUV to retail customers in Europe since 2018; Spring, European champion of affordable electric mobility; Jogger, the versatile C-segment family car. Present in 44 countries, Dacia has sold more than 8 million vehicles since 2004.



Médiathèque (11)

Born in 1968 then launched throughout Europe and the Mediterranean region in 2004, Dacia has always offered cars with the best value for money, while constantly redefining that which is essential. A disruptive brand, Dacia designs vehicles that are simple, versatile, reliable, and that suit the lifestyles of its customers. Dacia models have become market benchmarks: Logan, a new car at second-hand prices; Sandero, the best-selling private car in Europe every year since 2017; Duster, the most sold SUV to retail customers in Europe since 2018; Spring, European champion of affordable electric mobility; Jogger, the versatile C-segment family car. Present in 44 countries, Dacia has sold more than 8 million vehicles since 2004.