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“EU's Cheapest EV” Dacia Spring Mule Charges in Romania Ahead of 2021 Launch

Ever since Renault bought Dacia - the largest Romanian carmaker and one that's had several ties with the French over the years - back in 1999, the East-European brand has been on a constant rise. The Logan model proved very popular in its domestic market and abroad as well, as did the rest that followed.
2021 Dacia Spring charging in Romania 8 photos
Photo: Atelierul de Detailing via Facebook
2021 Dacia Spring charging in Romania2021 Dacia Spring charging in Romania2021 Dacia Spring charging in Romania2021 Dacia Spring charging in Romania2021 Dacia Spring charging in Romania2021 Dacia Spring charging in Romania2021 Dacia Spring charging in Romania
The Logan may still be Dacia's best-selling modern model, but it was really the Duster SUV that took the company to the next level. There were other affordable sedans to choose from, but finding a cheap, capable, and well-built off-roader was a much more difficult task before Renault-Dacia introduced the Duster.

Now, one MPV and commercial van later, Dacia and Renault are looking to rock the market once again with the most affordable electric vehicle on the European market, the upcoming Dacia Spring. The Spring is a small, urban crossover (read a hatchback with slightly jacked-up ride height and some plastic side-padding) that promises to offer decent all-electric range for a very modest price.

In case you're looking at the camouflaged car in the pictures (via Atelierul de Detailing) and can't shake the feeling it seems a bit familiar, it's because this is actually a Renault City K-ZE used as a test mule for the Spring. Don't feel cheated, though, as Dacia's model will essentially be a re-badged Renault K-ZE, the model on sale in China since 2019, so it makes sense to use one for testing. Going even deeper - Inception-style - the K-ZE is also an electric conversion of Renault's Kwid (that sounds like "Renault Squid," by the way), a model built primarily for the Indian market. The important bit, however, is that the K-ZE in these pictures has Romanian pre-homologation license plates, which would suggest the Spring is on schedule for its 2021 release.

As much as Renault would like it, it can't simply remove all the rhomboidal badges and replace them with Dacia's beer bottle opener lookalike logo. The car will have to undergo some changes to comply with the stricter safety regulations over there, even though Dacia models aren't known for scoring particularly high in EuroNCAP tests.

So, with the price of EVs dropping every day, Renault and Dacia have a pretty big task on their hands because the only way the Spring will remain competitive on the market is if they manage to ask a much lower price than the competition. Considering the substantial EV purchase incentives that most European markets still offer (which look safe to carry on in the following years if we look at the EU's post-pandemic economy restart plan), the Spring should start well under the €20,000 that Skoda asked for its Citigo e model.

Combine all that with incentives that go as high as €9,000 (for the Spring's domestic market in Romania; €6,000 in Germany), and the 200 km (124 miles) of maximum range suddenly don't sound that bad.
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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