Alternative to Renault
Although the Spring brand proves that it is not blind to the advantages of electrical engineering, Dacia intends to remain faithful to the internal combustion engine until the bitter end. Deliberately, of course.
For a brand that is mainly active in Europe, ‘until the bitter end’ means 2035 for the time being, when all of us in the EU permanently remove the combustion engine from the menu. Significantly later than parent company Renault, which wants to have completely switched to electric cars by 2030. According to Dacia CEO Denis Le Vot, this is precisely where the power of Dacia’s choice lies. In an interview with Reuters, he states that Dacia can act as a kind of rock in the surf for (Renault) customers who think that the electrification battle is going way too fast.
The idea that there are many such ‘conservative’ buyers in Europe is supported by Dacia for the time being by the current sales mix. The electric Spring accounts for 12 percent of the total. The remaining 88 percent have an internal combustion engine. Hybrids are not there yet, but they are coming. LPG (autogas) also continues to play a major role in the Romanian budget brand, which is unique in the automotive world. The relatively inexpensive fuel type accounts for a third of Dacia sales worldwide.
Prefer electric? No problem, because the Manifesto concept car presented today shows that Dacia is keeping an eye on that growing part of the market.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl