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A giant as big as four hypermarkets � An empty field at the side of the road connecting Colibasi to Mioveni: this is what one could see before 2004. Today, the CKD ILN centre is standing on the same location. For 12 months, it was the most impressive construction site in Arges and one of the biggest in Romania. Its huge dimensions were comparable to the surface of four hypermarkets or to seven football fields. The scope and complexity of the project was a major challenge. According to the experts’ opinion, “organizing the surface into different compartments using fire-proof walls and setting up the pump stations proved a technological hallmark of the contractors who succeeded in making all that” (Daniel Topologeanu, head of the ILN project with the Maintenance and Environment Quality Division). The effort put into achieving the project allowed the centre to become operational only a year after the Logan entered production at the Mioveni plant. It was the perfect moment for the ILN centre to start shipping CKD collections to the Avtoframos plant in Moscow, and then to the assembly plants in Morocco and Columbia. Iran (2006) and India become the next two shipping destinations for the ILN centre. The international expansion of the Logan programme had started. � �The Dacia Plant in Mioveni: the pilot centre of the Logan Programme
� �ILN – a spring-board for the geographical expansion of the Logan Project
For all these plants to operate at the established capacity and pace, they need the constant supply of a huge quantity of parts and components, mainly manufactured in Romania. Such is the extraordinary dimension of the logistical system involved in this project. ILN is the biggest logistic center of its kind not only in the Renault Group, but in the entire world automotive industry. No matter how surprising it might seem, the huge construction was built in an extremely short period of time, considering the vast proportions of the site. Practically, only one year had passed from the moment the construction works started until the project was finished, in May 2005. 2007 was the year when exports exceeded Dacia’s sales on the Romanian market. The same year, Dacia’s first export market was France, with 32,688 Dacia Logan sold. At the end of October 2007, Dacia became the 13th most sold car brand on the French market. At end 2008, Dacia had exported 43,682 to France, whereas total sales since 2005 on this market rose to 104,911 units and put Dacia among the ten most sold car brands in France. Germany became Dacia’s second export destination, with 17,301 cars sold in 2007 (174.1% more against sales in 2006). In 2008, the sales on the German market reached a total of 25,506 units. Overall, Dacia has sold 51,159 cars on this market from 2005 to 2008. The following countries also count as export markets for Dacia: Ukraine (9,350 units sold in 2007, and 13,755 units sold in 2008), Algeria (9,089 units sold in 2007, and 12,200 units sold in 2008), Turkey (8,907 units sold in 2007, and 9,578 units sold in 2008), Italy (4,971 units sold in 2007 and 8,623 units sold in 2008), Spain (7,734 units sold in 2007 and 6,974 units sold in 2008). � Dacia’s export destination at end 2008:
� Logan, a worldwide programme
Logan is the result of a pilot programme of numerical simulations focused on design and manufacturing tools and processes.� Logan was welcomed by the international press as the automotive event of the year, on its launch in June 2004. It was awarded the 2004 Autobest car by journalists from 11 countries in Central and Eastern Europe. It has been present on the Romanian market since September 2004.
The “Design to cost” method initiated by Renault in 1992 came to its decisive stage in 2004, with the Logan Programme; the body lines were designed to reduce stamping costs. The idea resides in orienting the entire process of conception towards reliability and money saving, with the help of certain confirmed solutions. The use of the certain common elements on several models of the same car makers (�carry over�) is a guarantee of reliability for customers and a source of money saving. Thus, Logan takes over the engines, front trains, the steering and rear brakes from the Renault Clio.
To obtain an unequalled price/quality/interior space ratio, Renault optimized its performances. As for the purchasing criteria, the price factor ranks first in Romania, Central Europe and Turkey, second only to its moderate maintenance costs. � � The Logan Project Renault’s expertise used to create a modern, reliable and affordable car Logan is an entirely Renault origin car (technology, development, engine, gearbox, production standards). It was designed at Renault’s Technocentre near Paris, and it was well adapted to the specific of its target markets: modern, yet moderately priced, its carrying load capacity (best in its class), its five roomy seats and the low maintenance costs are as many one-of-a-kind advantages. Its modern design follows international and European standards in terms of safety, pollution, soundproofing, and recycling. The Logan project is a new step in Renault’s history. “We started from a white page and we were constantly stimulated by our goal to attain a sale price starting at 5,000 euros” (Louis Schweitzer, former Chairman and General Manager of Renault, now President of the Administration Board” quoted by Jean-Marie Hurtiger, Manager of the Logan project). The result after four years of development, which mobilized the entire expertise of the French carmaker, is a three-volume sedan, the Logan, launched at end 2004. In its segment, Logan faces a most varied competition, often represented by locally built models, such as Chevrolet Aveo, Hyundai Accent, Skoda Fabia sedan, Peugeot 206 sedan, Fiat Albea. � Safety Safety Performance at European Standards Ensuring safety has been of paramount importance to the makers of the Logan. Renault engineers have gone to great lengths in their attempt to identify unique solutions, distinct from those usually adopted for "traditional" projects, in order for the performance to resemble as much as possible that of state-of-the-art Renault vehicles. Logan is a vehicle meeting the European safety norms. Logan was subject to the most stringent Renault tests, as well as to numerous tests staged by independent bodies and the specialised press throughout Europe. The vehicle passed the braking tests and various obstacle tests, and also had good results at the Euro Ncap tests ("3 stars"). The innumerable articles published in the European media after the launch of the Logan certify that it is a safe vehicle. � Active Safety The solutions identified for the Logan active safety originate from the equipment existing within the Renault range:
Starting 2009, all Dacia models feature� the ABS 8.1 (with electronic brakeforce distribution) and AFU (emergency brakeforce assistance) systems as standard equipment. � Passive Safety Conceived on the basis of a platform derived from platform B (Renault Modus / Nissan Micra), Logan benefits from all the advantages provided by Renault engineering as regards safety and on-road behavior:
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