The all-new Dacia Spring moves production from China to Slovenia, starting at €17,900 in Italy.
It shares its platform with the Renault Twingo and offers up to 155 miles of WLTP range from a 27.5-kWh LFP battery.
A larger body brings more space, while optional 50-kW DC charging takes the battery from 15–80% in 28 minutes.
Can Europe build affordable electric cars without handing the business to China? The original answer from European budget brand Dacia came with an ironic twist: its affordable Spring EV was built in China. The completely redesigned second generation changes that, moving production to Slovenia while keeping its price low.
In Italy, it starts at €17,900, and even the better-equipped Journey trim doesn't exceed €20,000. That's about the same as the outgoing China-made model, and you get an all-new European-made car with better specs.
This isn't another facelift, of which the Spring has had several, none of which could hide the fact that it was still related to the Renault Kwid, which was initially designed as a cheap combustion car for the Indian market. The new Spring shares its platform with the new Renault Twingo E-Tech, but it wants to look chiseled and serious, not cute and cheerful like the French car.
The Spring's specifications look very familiar alongside the Renault's. Both have a single front-mounted motor producing roughly 80 horsepower and 175 Nm (129 pound-feet), and they both draw from a 27.5-kilowatt-hour battery. Dacia confirms the pack's LFP chemistry and says the state capacity is the usable number. The Spring manages up to 250 kilometers (155 miles) on the WLTP cycle, slightly behind the Twingo's 263 kilometers (163 miles).
That's if you can match the claimed consumption figure of 4.9 miles/kWh (12.7 kWh/100 km).
It accelerates from a standstill to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 12.1 seconds and tops out at 130 km/h (81 mph). That's pretty slow, but Dacia says existing Spring owners average just 34 kilometers (21 miles) per day; you mostly see these cars in town, and 75% of charging takes place at home. This car is built around those routines.
Using a 7-kW home wallbox, the Spring's standard 6.6-kW onboard charger takes 2 hours and 55 minutes to charge the battery from 15% to 80%. The optional 11-kW charger cuts that to 1 hour and 55 minutes when connected to a sufficiently powerful three-phase wallbox.
As with the previous model, a DC fast charger isn't standard. It's bundled with the more powerful AC charger, and even though it only charges at up to 50 kW, which is pretty modest, it can bring the battery from 15-80% in 28 minutes.
The base Expression trim gets manual air conditioning, rear parking sensors, a seven-inch digital instrument display and a smartphone-based multimedia system—it has no central screen. Journey adds a 10.1-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a reversing camera, and keyless entry.
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Measuring 3.85 meters (151.5 inches), the new Spring is 15 centimeters (5.9 inches) longer than the outgoing model. It's also 18 cm (7 in) wider than before, which makes it look much more planted on the road and a lot less like a tall and narrow kei car.
Dacia says it developed the new Spring in less than two years. Sharing its underpinnings with the Twingo helps keep costs and development time down, giving it a credible shot at competing with Chinese rivals on value. European production could help win over buyers, too, especially since choosing it doesn't mean paying a hefty premium.