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The boxy Duster small SUV may not be setting the sales charts alight, but Renault says it is battling to lock in enough production to meet the orders it has for the all-wheel-drive manual version.
Renault cannot source enough stock to meet current demand for the all-wheel-drive manual version of its Duster small SUV, uptake for which it admits is a “slow burn”.
Australia was introduced last year to the Renault-branded version of the SUV sold in Europe under the budget Dacia brand, offered locally in front-wheel-drive automatic ‘4x2’ and all-wheel-drive manual ‘4x4’ formats.
The 4x4’s more off-road-friendly bumpers, various terrain modes, and rugged styling have seen it pitched as a more adventurous offering than road-focused competition, and even an unconventional rival to the Suzuki Jimny 4WD.
It is not the most popular variant in the line-up – and the Duster’s 62 total deliveries last month mean it is not challenging Toyota, Hyundai or Chery for a spot in the small SUV sales race – but Renault is still struggling to secure enough stock.
“It’s building. Duster is actually building quite nicely,” Renault Australia general manager Glen Sealey told Drive in recent weeks.
“We've certainly had shortages of the manual 4x4, which has affected the sales rate. The 4x2 is going okay, but what we're seeing is it's a slow burn for Duster.
“The order write is building month-on-month. March for us was one of our strongest months for Duster, actually, and we want to see it continue to build.”
Sealey said the 4x4 accounts for about 30 per cent of Duster orders, compared to 70 per cent 4x2, but stock shortages mean “it’s not that” in the split between manual and automatic deliveries.
The 4x4 has “some” crossover with Suzuki Jimny customers, the Renault Australia boss said, but he acknowledged “we're yet to see how the 4x4 really matures yet, because we just don't have the supply.”
The Duster 4x4 is a ‘mild hybrid’, with a small electric motor it can use to assist the petrol engine under load, but not drive the wheels on electric power like a ‘full’ hybrid.
In Europe, Renault's Dacia brand sells a full hybrid, front-wheel-drive Duster, capable of brief electric-only motoring.
There is also an automatic hybrid Duster with all-wheel drive where an electric motor is used to spin the rear wheels, rather than a mechanical connection to the petrol engine and front tyres.
“We're going to look at all options for Duster and everything that we can have moving forward,” Sealey said, when asked about the AWD hybrid’s chances for Australia.
“Obviously today, we have a vehicle that's only been in the market, give or take, six or seven months. The drivetrain that we utilise is quite a good drivetrain, being the 1.3-litre for the two-wheel-drive automatic, and the mild-hybrid in the Duster 4x4 manual.
“We're yet see that mature in terms of demand. We can't even keep the supply to demand at the moment. So of course, we're going to review our options as we move forward, but today we're sticking with what we've got.”
Sealey said the Duster is attracting a broad mix of customers.
“All over the place. We have an older demographic buying Duster because they like the simplicity of the car, and we have a younger demographic buying the vehicle particularly for the adventurous spirit of the vehicle.
“But the flip side of it is, you know, if when you look at Duster compared to a lot of other vehicles here today, it's rough and ready on the interior and that doesn't appeal to everyone. We know that.
“What it does [is] appeal to people who have an active lifestyle. They want something easy to clean, easy to use, and something that has longevity.”
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
