Romania 1969-1984: Dacia 1300/1310 moulds the country’s car landscape

1979 Dacia 1310

In August 1969, Dacia launches the 1300, a rebadged Renault 12 that would dominate car sales in Romania for more than three decades with a market share of around 65 to 80%, in effect moulding the country’s car landscape. It is relaunched as the 1310 in 1979.

Exactly 1.959.730 units would be produced from 23 August 1969 to 21 July 2004, including 1.716.660 sedans, 230.107 station wagons, 7.822 hatchbacks and 5.141 coupes. A majority of these were sold within Romania as Dacia had limited success in export markets during that period.