Dacia has opened orders for the new Spring electric car, launching the compact electric car with a £14,995 price tag and undercutting the UK's next most expensive EV by around £7000.
The Dacia Spring comes close to being the UK’s cheapest new car overall, with just the Fiat Panda, Kia Picanto and Dacia’s own Sandero coming in below £14,995.
Dacia also says the Spring can be bought via personal contact purchase from £169 per month with a deposit of £2335, making it comfortably more affordable than the likes of the Nissan Leaf and Vauxhall Corsa.
Two specification levels are available, both equipped with the same 26.8kWh battery offering 137 miles of range. Dacia says this figure can rise to 186 miles when driven carefully in the city.
The entry-level Expression car comes equipped with a lower-powered 44bhp motor, which is good for 0-62mph in 19sec.
Standard equipment includes a 7.0in touchscreen, a USB port, cruise control, electric front windows and rear parking sensors, plus a 12V socket, air conditioning and 15in wheels.
The quicker 64bhp car – which takes 13.7sec for the 0-62mph sprint – starts at £15,995 and adds larger, 15in wheels.
The 64bhp model is also available in range-topping Extreme trim for another £1000, which brings copper-style trim details, electric rear windows, an improved 10.0in touchscreen infotainment system, two USB ports and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
It also gains a di-directional charger, meaning you can use the Spring to charge external electronic devices.
As for practicality, the Spring offers 308 litres of boot space, which is significantly more than the now-axed Volkswagen Up! (251 litres), and also outmeasures the Toyota Yaris’s 286 litres. This increases to 1004 litres with the seats folded flat.
Dacia says the Spring can be charged from 20 to 100% in four hours using a 7kW home charger, and up to speeds of 48kW when fast charging.
The Spring was confirmed for a UK launch last year and gained a hefty overhaul both inside and out for 2024. Key among the changes was a completely new front end, with other improvements made to connectivity and interior quality.
Join the debate
Add your comment
Back to reality: poor in a crash, piddling performance and range, and the usual Dacia refusal to haggle on list prices.
Or you could buy a brand new Vauxhall Corsa-e with huge discount, decent range and strong performance, not to mention better safety, for £18,495 (just look on Autotrader).
Once the cheaper EV offerings from other mainstream manufacturers hit the market and start offerings discounts (e.g. Citroen e-C3), you'll feel a bit shortchanged if you've spent £15,000 on a Dacia Spring.
I believe that the Dacia Spring EV is produced exclusively in China where it is sold as the Dongfeng Nano Box priced around 7000 Euros. Doesn't that make you want one even more! Credit where it's due though, small low cost short range models should be a perfect application for EVs - and at least Dacia seems to have started the ball rolling...
Cheapest version may do more harm than good for both Dacia and the BEV cause.