Dacia is the budget brand on the Western European market, but that does not mean that you have to rely on old-fashioned technology at the Romanian manufacturer. Next year you can step into the Spring, a fully electric city car that should make the EV more accessible than ever for the masses!
Dacia currently has an interesting engine range. Not so long ago, as a customer, you were dependent on somewhat outdated Renault technology, but nowadays the brand hangs current power sources in its models. Not only do the Romanians in our country supply cars with the modern TCe’s from Renault, there are also various models with petrol engines on the delivery list that can handle LPG. For hybrids and plug-in hybrids you currently do not have to knock on the door of Dacia and with that the arrival of electric models seems like a future. But nothing could be further from the truth, because next year there will be a fully electric hatchback in Dacia showrooms, which, despite its limited dimensions, could be very interesting! Next year, Dacia will launch a completely new Sandero, but the absolute stunner of the brand promises to be the electric Spring. The Spring is the production version of the previously shown Spring Electric Concept. Recently surfaced patent sketches show that Dacia remains strikingly faithful to the design of the concept car for the final Spring. Dacia has removed some glimmers from the prototype, but the basic design remains virtually intact together with the strikingly designed front. The design is also somewhat older and is undoubtedly familiar to the Chinese consumer.
Prize Packer
The Dacia Spring is in fact Dacia’s version of the Renault City K-ZE, which has been on sale in China since last year. The K-ZE is in turn the fully electric version of the Kwid, an extremely compact crossover that is sold in various growth markets. The combustion engine versions have never come to Europe, but as an EV it is added to the range of budget brand Dacia. Of course, the Renault Groupe gets away with that. The Dacia customer is more inclined than the Renault buyer to take a simpler finish for granted. Especially when you consider that Dacia intends to make the Spring the cheapest electric car in Europe!
For the promised modest price tag, you will of course not get an EV that is capable of driving hundreds of electric kilometers on one charge. Yet you will certainly not come off poorly in terms of range. The Sprint Concept, which with its barely 3.75 meter long carriage is about 25 centimeters longer than a Smart Forfour, had an intended WLTP range of a very useful 200 kilometers for this segment. In comparison, the Mini Electric is 235 kilometers away in one electric breath, while the Volkswagen Group’s electric e-Up, Mii Electric and Citigo iV triplets make it up to 265 kilometers. Just how big the battery pack will be, Dacia keeps – as well as the specifications of the electric motor – under its cap. However, it is not inconceivable that the Dacia will get the same powertrain as the Chinese Renault City K-ZE with which the model shares its basis. That would mean a 26.8 kWh electric heart paired with a 45 hp electric motor that powers the front wheels. All in all not very impressive, but it does help to keep the price tag as low as possible.
To care
With the basic starting price, which will probably fluctuate around 15 mille in Europe, Dacia makes the electric car suddenly very accessible to the masses. You can count on the Spring for that money without the frills that were visible on the Spring Concept, although a more expensive version could of course add some comfort and especially some ‘fun’ to the electric city car. Reading the name of the already mentioned ancestor of this electric Romanian, the Renault Kwid, may cause you some concern. Global NCAP rammed various versions of the Kwid into the wall in 2016 in India. Even a version with a driver’s airbag – until recently often optional in India – failed to score a single star. The Kwid has now been radically modernized and for the European market parent company Renault has undoubtedly done its best to raise the safety level to a higher level.
The Spring will probably be presented to the world in October. However, the car will not be in the showroom until next year. One step higher up the EV ladder, parent company Renault has been offering the Twingo Electric for a few weeks now, which, with its 82 hp electric motor and its WLTP range of 190 kilometers, functions as a more expensive alternative.