Renault's value brand Dacia is switching production of its low-cost Dacia Spring EV to Europe from China so it can benefit from French subsidies, the company announced. Priced at โ‚ฌ17,900 for the base model ($20,789), the Spring will cost as little as โ‚ฌ12,200 ($14,169) after French EV credits are applied. Dacia has also redesigned the Spring, making it sit a little higher and adding some sporty allure with a more muscular body design.

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The Dacia Spring will be assembled in Novo Mesto, Slovenia, at the same plant where Renault builds its Twingo E-Tech city car. The Spring now appears to be Europe's cheapest EV after incentives, which vary depending on country and your household income.

The Spring has been a relative success for Renault, with sale of 210,000 units across the world since 2021. It's designed to help Renault meet its ambitious 2030 goal of a 100 percent electrified mix in Europe, with half electric and half hybrid vehicle sales. Europe has ordained that fleet emissions must drop 90 percent by 2035 compared to 2021 levels.

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Edit:

New passenger vehicle registrations in Europe (EU, EFTA, UK) increased by 4%, with all-electric car sales up by 51% to take a 25% market share

Best-Selling Carmakers and Car Brands in Europe in 2026 (July):

1 Volkswagen

2 Skoda

3 Toyota

4 BMW

5 Mercedes

6 Renault

7 Audi

8 Peugeot

9 Kia

10 Dacia

all 32 comments

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[โ€“] 39 points 1 month ago

Finally some good onshoring.

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  • [โ€“] 24 points 1 month ago (2 children)

    At first I read the headline the other way around.

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  • [โ€“] 7 points 1 month ago* (5 children)

    Still no Jogger EV sadly for the fans of 3 row seating etc ...

    Was hoping changing the Dacia CEO (Katrin Adt from Mercedes EV ...) would speed this up.

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  • [โ€“] 2 points 1 month ago (4 children)

    Have you looked into used Nissan e-NV200?

    It's essentially the van variant of the second-gen Nissan Leaf and available with a third row of seats. A very affordable car. The footprint is absolutely tiny.

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  • [โ€“] 1 point 1 month ago (3 children)

    Oh didnt know abiut that model.

    But jump from SUV to a van is quite a step ... And 40kWh a bit low range ....

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  • [โ€“] 2 points 1 month ago (2 children)

    It's an older EV. You can't exactly be picky about range with cheap EVs that at the lower end of the spectrum. When new, it had more range than this Dacia though and the drivetrain has proven itself to be exceptionally durable in the Leaf (including the batteries), so even used, it should still be fine for everyday driving.

    The seating position might actually be higher than in the SUV you're used to, but it's one of very few modern EVs with a solid leaf-sprung rear axle, so that would take some time getting used to. I can also imagine family members objecting to the rather boxy utilitarian appearance and build quality, with barely more than token attempts at styling flourishes anywhere on the car. Then again, once you're seated inside, you don't have to look at its outside appearance anymore, so that's a plus. Jokes aside, this thing makes more sense than SUVs for the overwhelming majority of people, but we are unfortunately not rational creatures.

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  • [โ€“] 2 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    Oh thnx, much info ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘

    The Wife Acceptance Factor tho ... ๐Ÿ˜‰

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  • [โ€“] 2 points 1 month ago

    Yeah, I've had the same discussion before. "No boxy transporter under any circumstances." Otherwise, she couldn't give a damn about the car (provided it has heated seats), but this is apparently a red line one shall not cross.

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  • [โ€“] 5 points 1 month ago (3 children)

    Damn, wish they sold that in Canada

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  • [โ€“] 2 points 1 month ago (1 child)
  • [โ€“] 8 points 1 month ago

    The first thing in the article:

    Mercedes-Benz is demanding cost cuts at its German plants and a review of benefits. Otherwise, production could be relocated to Eastern Europe.

    Call me crazy, but I do not consider China to be part of Eastern Europe.

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  • [โ€“] 1 point 1 month ago (4 children)

    This is good, but for fucks sake, Renault, make Duster and Bigster PHEVs!!!

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  • [โ€“] 6 points 1 month ago (3 children)

    Can I ask why a hybrid? I keep seeing people asking for hybrids and I don't understand why not go all-in on electric?

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  • [โ€“] 2 points 1 month ago

    Range anxiety is the reason in many cases. Most people are skeptical about the range and having to charge the car at regular intervals, whereas hybrids can be driven like normal cars. Hybrids also used to get the same government incentives as EVs, making them popular fleet purchases - where most people are then ignoring the plug-in EV aspect, which makes them less efficient than both EVs and even non-hybrid internal combustion engine cars.

    Once these people get to experience full EVs, this fear vanishes and they rarely want to go back (I just recently read that 94% of EV owners don't want to go back to internal combustion engines, with or without an extra battery).

    From the perspective of manufacturers, plug-in hybrids are an easy way to lower their fleet emission (since they only need smaller, cheaper, easier to retrofit and engineer batteries than proper EVs), because they can claim extremely unrealistic WLTP ranges, unless drivers dutifully charge them every day, which most, as mentioned, don't.

    A relative of mine had several plug-in hybrids in a row and he was one of few people I know who actually drove them in EV mode most of the time, only using the petrol engine for longer journeys. He's now made the jump to a proper EV - KGM Torres EVx, an absolute bargain with dealer discounts - and couldn't be happier. For under โ‚ฌ40k, it's a comfortable, quick, well-equipped and extremely well-made vehicle that is easily capable of completing long cross-country trips. Took me a few years to convince him to go full EV though.

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  • [+] -6 points 1 month ago (10 children)

    the spring is such a weird car. i guess the twingo is the same. they max out at 90km/h, so you basically can't take them out of the city you live in. i know france is a bit more tightly packed than sweden but it's still a strange design decision.

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  • [โ€“] 6 points 1 month ago (4 children)

    No version of the Spring nor Twingo maxes out at 90 kph. You must be confusing them with different vehicles, perhaps the Renault Twizy?

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  • [โ€“] 1 point 1 month ago (3 children)

    i may be thinking of the first-gen spring.

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  • [โ€“] 2 points 1 month ago (2 children)

    That one has a top speed of 125 kph.

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  • [โ€“] 1 point 1 month ago (1 child)

    wonder where i got that from then...

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  • [โ€“] 2 points 1 month ago

    It happens. Sometimes, our brains pick up or imagine wrong information and then stick with it for a long time.

    I used to think that small traffic signs cost 20 grand for some reason and once confidently blurted this out when I was younger, which got me some strange looks.

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  • [โ€“] 1 point 1 month ago

    I don't know if that limit is specific to your market, but I've personally driven a Spring over 110 km/h so they don't have that limit where I am. The new one has 80 horsepower, should be plenty to go that fast.

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