Algeria October 2014: Dacia holds 17%, places 3 models in Top10

9 out of 10 Dacia Sandero sold in Algeria are the Stepway variant.

* See the Top 10 best-selling models and brands by clicking on the title *

New car sales in Algeria slow down their free fall in October, down 9% year-on-year to 24,500 deliveries. This brings the year-to-date total to 298,000 units, still down a harsh 22% on 2013. Algeria was among worldwide automotive headlines last week when Renault opened a new factory in Oran on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of the country. Renault, which has two factories in Morocco, aims to boost sales in the North African markets of Morocco, Algeria, Egypt and Tunisia, where new-car sales are expected to increase to 880,000 units in 2015 from 759,000 units in 2012, according to IHS Automotive. It is the French manufacturer’s first factory in the country since it exited the market after Algeria gained independence from France in 1962.

Renault’s new Algerian plant is building the Symbol sedan.

The factory is building the Symbol from completely knocked down production (CKD) for the local market. Renault said the Symbol will offer a high level of equipment and will be the first vehicle in the country to feature a GPS navigation system. This event explains the disappearance of Symbol, best-seller in September due to runout prices on the imported model, from the October Top 10. Once production kicks in it should reappear among Algeria’s best-sellers with great fanfare and will threaten the Dacia Logan for top spot overall in 2015.

The Dacia Logan is the best-selling model in Algeria this month and year-to-date.

Back to October figures, and the winner by far this month is Renault-owned low-cost manufacturer Dacia. For the first time since BSCB started following Algeria 5 years ago, Dacia places 3 models inside the Top 10: the Logan is back in charge of the models sales charts thanks to 2,344 sales and just under 10% market share, lifting it back to the 2014 YTD pole position with 18,900 units and 6.3% ahead of the Hyundai Accent at 18,412 and 6.2%. The Sandero, boosted by the new generation Stepway, is up 6 spots on September to land on the podium for the first time at #3 and 4.7% share, while the Duster breaks into the Top 10 at #10 and 2.5% share. Notice also the Renault Kangoo shooting up to #2 and 5.9% share, the Peugeot 301 back up to #5 and the Hyundai i10 holding its rank inside the Top 10 at #9.

Previous month: Algeria September 2014: Renault Symbol leads the way

One year ago: Algeria October 2013: Dacia Logan back in charge

Full October 2014 Top 10 models and brands Ranking Tables below.