Dacia has confirmed that the next generation of its smallest electric car will be called New Spring, keeping alive one of the most important names in budget EV motoring.
The current Spring arrived in the UK as a properly disruptive little electric car, proving that going electric did not have to mean buying something big, heavy, complicated or expensive. It was Britain’s cheapest new electric car when it launched here, but it has since been beaten on price by the Leapmotor T03, which now starts from £14,495.
The original Spring is still one of Britain’s cheapest new cars, though, with prices starting from £15,990, and the New Spring could put Dacia right back at the very bottom of the price lists.
open image in galleryDacia has confirmed that the next Spring will be built in Europe, rather than China like the current car. That could make it eligible for the UK government’s Electric Car Grant, which offers either £1,500 or £3,750 off qualifying electric cars.
If Dacia can keep the New Spring close to the price of today’s car, even the smaller grant could help it stay below £16,000. If it qualified for the full £3,750, the price could become very interesting indeed.
Dacia is not giving too much away yet, but it is making a point of keeping the Spring name. The company says the name has become a symbol of renewal and positive energy, while the car itself has become a benchmark for simple, accessible electric motoring.
Since the Spring was first introduced in 2021, nearly 210,000 have been sold across Europe, showing there is clearly a place for a small electric car that keeps things simple.
That same back-to-basics thinking will continue with the New Spring. Dacia says it will keep the essentials: a fully electric powertrain, four seats and a proper boot. In other words, this is not being pitched as a tech-heavy flagship; it’s still designed to be a small, useful and affordable electric car.
The design looks set for a step forward, too. The teaser image hints at a much tougher, squarer look, more in keeping with the latest Dacia models such as the Duster and Bigster. That should give the New Spring a more grown-up feel than today’s car, while still keeping the chunky, no-nonsense look Dacia buyers expect.
open image in galleryUnder the skin, the New Spring will share technology with the Renault Twingo E-Tech Electric, which is very good news. The Twingo is the best car I have driven this year, largely because it keeps things light, simple and fun, rather than being a small car pretending to be a big one.
If the New Spring follows a similar technical route as the Twingo, it could use a small LFP battery of around 27.5kWh, an 82bhp electric motor and offer a range of up to 163 miles. That would make plenty of sense for a city car, especially one built around affordability rather than chasing a huge range figure most owners would rarely need.
It also fits neatly into Dacia’s wider electric plans. The brand has already said it will launch four fully electric cars by 2030, while sticking to the value-led thinking that has made the Sandero, Duster and Bigster such strong sellers.
Full UK prices, final specifications and launch timing have not yet been confirmed. But by keeping the Spring name, moving production to Europe and borrowing thinking from the brilliant new Renault Twingo, Dacia’s New Spring could become one of the most important affordable EVs coming in the 12 months.