Photo: Dacia/Renault via 12365auto.com
If James May were to present Top Gear instead of The Grand Tour, he would be very excited about the Romanian automaker responsible for the Sandero subcompact hatchback. “Great news! The Dacia Spring is almost here,” he would say, adding that the production model is scheduled to roll out in 2021.
Following a concept with the same footprint as proportions as the K-ZE City that Renault sells in China, the first-ever electric vehicle from Dacia is edging closer to reality thanks to a design patent discovered by a Chinese publication.
12365auto.com reports that Dacia may utilize a 26.8-kWh battery and a 33-kW electric motor for approximately 250 kilometers (155 miles) of driving range. Those specifications are based on the City K-ZE from the Middle Kingdom, which features the CMF-A small vehicle architecture of the Renault Kwid.
What we know for certain about the Spring is that it’s rougly 30 cm (12 inches) shorter than the Sandero, it seats four people, and it’s capable of more than 200 kilometers in one go. 124 miles may not sound like much, but Dacia is thinking outside the box.
Take, for instance, the Mazda MX-30 electric crossover with a 35.5-kWh battery. The Japanese manufacturer promises 210 kilometers or 130 miles from this setup, and the lithium-ion pack is so small in order to keep things light and to minimize well-to-wheel emissions.
Because the Spring is much smaller and the battery is smaller as well, you can also bet that the budget-oriented brand from Romania will surprise you with the starting price. Expected to undercut the e-up! and the two other EVs from the Volkswagen Group, the Spring could cost €14,000 or less with the plug-in incentive.
In Germany, for example, the government and automotive industry cover 6,000 euros of the retail price as long as the EV costs less than 40,000 euros. Don’t know about you, but this is the perfect recipe for the Spring to become a Europe-wide favorite for fleet operators and carsharing services such as Sixt and Car2go.
12365auto.com reports that Dacia may utilize a 26.8-kWh battery and a 33-kW electric motor for approximately 250 kilometers (155 miles) of driving range. Those specifications are based on the City K-ZE from the Middle Kingdom, which features the CMF-A small vehicle architecture of the Renault Kwid.
What we know for certain about the Spring is that it’s rougly 30 cm (12 inches) shorter than the Sandero, it seats four people, and it’s capable of more than 200 kilometers in one go. 124 miles may not sound like much, but Dacia is thinking outside the box.
Take, for instance, the Mazda MX-30 electric crossover with a 35.5-kWh battery. The Japanese manufacturer promises 210 kilometers or 130 miles from this setup, and the lithium-ion pack is so small in order to keep things light and to minimize well-to-wheel emissions.
Because the Spring is much smaller and the battery is smaller as well, you can also bet that the budget-oriented brand from Romania will surprise you with the starting price. Expected to undercut the e-up! and the two other EVs from the Volkswagen Group, the Spring could cost €14,000 or less with the plug-in incentive.
In Germany, for example, the government and automotive industry cover 6,000 euros of the retail price as long as the EV costs less than 40,000 euros. Don’t know about you, but this is the perfect recipe for the Spring to become a Europe-wide favorite for fleet operators and carsharing services such as Sixt and Car2go.
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