Renault’s Dacia division in Romania is forging ahead with a bakkie version of the second-generation Renault/Dacia Duster SUV and it will be more work-oriented than the South American Renault Oroch, meaning it’s almost certain to take the form of a single cab.
This was confirmed by Renault Romania’s commercial GM Hakim Boutehra in an interview with 0-100.ro
, the publication also speculating that it would likely become the most affordable pick-up on the market, and have spartan rather than plush finishes.
But here’s where it gets interesting. This vehicle would ultimately serve as a successor to the Dacia Logan pick-up, which also served the basis for South Africa’s Nissan NP200 through the company’s alliance ties with Renault.
Which begs the question - would this new Duster bakkie not make the perfect replacement for the NP200? The compact Nissan, which is a common sight on our roads, was first launched back in 2008, so a replacement would certainly be welcomed by customers.
However, at this stage Nissan South Africa states “at this point we are not expecting changes to our local NP200 range”.
So will the current version make fun of decades like its predecessor the 1400 did, or will Nissan SA eventually replace it somewhere down the line? That’s anyone’s guess at this point, but if it were ever replaced the Romanian bakkie would make the perfect candidate.
The bakkie that you see in the pictures, incidentally, is a coach-built example created by Romturingia, but Dacia is working together with that company on bringing the official model to life, so the high-volume Dacia version should look similar to this. It’s also not hard to imagine it with a Nissan Navara-like grille.