The Dacia Spring is the cheapest electric car that frugal German customers will find on the market. But instead of continuing to rely on Stromer at an entry-level price, Dacia wants to remain loyal to the combustion engine for as long as possible. But customers are already looking into the tube.
Mercedes, VW, Ford, Opel – many car manufacturers have long since announced the end of combustion engines. Some go well beyond the target set by the EU. Opel, for example, does not want to stop selling petrol and diesel engines in Europe until 2035, but only wants to offer electric cars from 2028.
Dacia remains loyal to combustion engines: what does that mean for electric cars?
It is different with Dacia. The carmaker has built up a reputation for cheap purchase prices for its cars over the years. The only electric model so far, Dacia Spring, is no exception, on the contrary. The Spring is considered the cheapest e-car on the German market, both in terms of purchase and the cost per kilometer. But the manufacturer has no rush to further electrify its offering.
Dacia wants Stay true to combustion engines until 2035, says Denis Le Vot, brand boss of Dacia (source: Reuters). The plan behind it: Dacia could support the switch to electric cars at Renault by later switching to cushion the risks. It should be over there in 2030. “Everyone has a part to play,” Le Vot continued.
Big leaps in the direction of electromobility can therefore hardly be expected from Dacia in the foreseeable future. The plans to continue to install internal combustion engines are a rejection, but not. Instead, Dacia wants to react depending on how the market develops. Petrol and diesel on the one hand and electric cars on the other could exist together, according to the Dacia boss.
This is what the cheap Dacia Spring looks like:
Germany’s cheapest electric car is finished
However, e-car buyers have to accept one uncertainty: In Germany, Dacia has not been taking any orders for Spring for months. The inexpensive model is also to be replaced by a new electric car from 2024. We’ll have to wait and see whether the Spring will be available again on the German market by then.