The total value of sales of Dacia cars rose 28.5% to 103.604 units in the first quarter of 2006 despite a 4.1% lower performance on the Romanian market, the Renault group, the owner of the Romanian brand Dacia, announced on Thursday.

Compared to the first six months of 2005, Logan sales under Dacia and Renault brands almost doubled, reaching 124,000 units.

In France, Renault remains the market leader with a 26.8% market share, with over 360,000 cars sold - most of them Clio and Megan. In the first six months of this year, Dacia managed to sell 11,285 Logan cars on the French market.

Outside Europe, Dacia sales rose 10.2% with 76,927 sold units, with special success in the Mediterranean area.

In Turkey, Logan sales rose 11%, followed closely by sales in Marocco and Algeria. And in the Americas the most significant boosts were recorded in Argentina and Columbia.