The next update for the Renault Duster, which could be due in 2024, is set to embrace the future of electrification with a hybrid electric powertrain. Dacia, the current manufacturer of the utilitarian crossover, says that this shift will not affect its affordability.
Speaking to Autocar, the Renault Duster product boss Julien Ferry said that the successor of the current model must be “the same” car.
“Its role in the company is to provide a very good price-to-feature ratio,” he said. “It has to address these customers who are looking for a simple car which can go off-road.”
Ferry stressed that the next Renault Duster would remain a capable off-roader. With the outgoing model being the most affordable four-wheel drive SUV on sale in the European region, he insists that the brand must “keep the recipe and update it following customer demand”.
The next-generation Renault Duster is destined to adhere to electrification under the group’s “Renaulutuion” transformation strategy which will include 24 new electrified vehicles by 2025.
Dacia has already stepped into this sphere with its Spring Electric which is essentially an electrified Renault Kwid. As a result of its low-cost platform, its being sold in the region at a very competitive price. Ferry highlights this point to reiterate the brand’s ability to create electrified products with a low price tag.
“Even if [EVs] have been too expensive, you can see that the Spring is quite low for an electric vehicle,” he said.