The first right-hand drive versions of Renault’s Logan budget car went on sale in India this month, paving the way for Logan to be sold in the UK under the Dacia brand name.

The Logan has been engineered for the Indian market in a joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra called Mahindra Renault.

“We’re looking at the UK and studying the business case,” says Renault product chief Patrick Pélata.

“The problem we face is capacity – demand globally for Logan is very high,” says Pélata. “There are more projects for the Romanian plant than we have capacity for – and one of those projects is the UK.”

If Logan does come to the UK it would be sold under the Dacia brand through separately branded dealers – although most will probably be existing Renault retailers, says Pélata.

“Using the Dacia name allows us to say this is not a sophisticated car – the promise is very simple, it’s a value-for-money deal.”

A new plant is being built near Chennai by Mahindra, Renault and its Alliance partner Nissan, which represents an investment of £700m by the partners between now and 2014.

Since its launch in 2004, almost 450,000 Logans have been sold in 51 countries.