Dacia's first electric vehicle set to be "cheapest on the market"

Romanian car manufacturer Dacia has revealed its first-ever fully-electric vehicle, the Dacia Spring - which they claim will be the cheapest available commercial EV on the European market - which is due to go on sale early next year.

The car is being developed at parent company Renault's plant in Shiyan, China and is based on their City K-ZE model, which has been produced at the plant since 2019.

The announcement was made at the Renault eWays online event, which is dedicated to electric vehicle technology.

Current estimates place the Spring at roughly €15,000, which could easily drop below €10,000 given the right market trends and environmental factors in certain European nations, placing it well below the current cheapest commercially-available electric car, which is either the SEAT Mii Electric or Smart EQ, depending on the market. The Spring ranks cheaper than both at either bracket. 

Luca de Meo, CEO of Renault, said they want the Spring to be the Logan of cars, referring to the Dacia Logan, which was commercially available in Romania for a starting price of roughly €5,000.

While cheap, Dacia's famous SUV, the Duster, has surpassed it in sales figures since its launch in 2017.

He said Renault wanted to "break the rules" and designed a car that is 4.29 metres long and shorter than a traditional hatchback but with a similar level of space on the inside of the vehicle.

The CEO described it as "a masterpiece of packaging" and a band of lights that spans the front of the car will make "future Renaults visible from 100 metres away."

Renaults decision to produce the new model in China has been met with heavy criticism from French union officials, who have pointed to Mr de Meo's statements made earlier this year about "developing a profitable range of models built in Europe."

Like with the Duster, the Springs design will be minimalist to bring costs down. Power windows and locks are included, and a small 3.5-inch digital display on the dashboard comes as standard.

Most other systems are completely optional and may be purchased separately.

The launch presents a potentially positive future as the European automarket was one of many sectors ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite this, electric vehicle sales in Europe have trebled in 2020 owing to global trends to cut carbon emissions, that seems to set to continue.

An EV market share increase of 15% is forecast for 2021 as automakers across the board look to reduce their carbon footprint.

However, other automakers have halted production on specialist models to cut their losses until the effects of Coronavirus begin to die down.

Demand for renewable fuel models has led to interesting innovations within the automotive sector, which paints a hopeful picture of the future in a world on the brink of potential economic collapse.

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