Bestseller of the brand and best-selling car in Europe, the Dacia Sandero owes its success to its versatility and its relatively affordable price. However, with the ban on the sale of thermal vehicles in the EU from 2035, the manufacturer will be forced to switch its city car from segment B to electricity, which risks, if we look at the prices current electric city cars, to explode its price.
Small battery, small price
However, in an interview with the British motoring magazine CoachDacia CEO Denis Le Vot said that not only would the new fourth-generation Sandero be available in an all-electric version, based on the Renault group’s CMF-BEV platform, but that in order to offer an electric vehicle”accessible“, it would not benefit from a large battery, nor from a fast charging capacity.
Xavier Martinet, Sales and Marketing Director, said Dacia will remain loyal to the B segment, which is the brand’s DNA. To maintain its leading position in this market, the Sandero will be electrified in an affordable way. The strategy is to opt for lower range and longer recharge times compared to competitors, in order to offer a lower price to customers. Dacia also plans to base its future vehicles on the Renault group’s CMF-B platform, including electric models. Thus, the electric version of the Sandero could be a Dacia interpretation of the future Renault 5, but more focused on the utility and practical side.
Denis Le Vot mentioned that Spring customers traveled an average of 16 km per day, much less than the 220 km of range offered by the 28.3 kWh battery. He suggested that lessons learned from using the Spring would influence Dacia’s future electric vehicles. However, given the current versatility of the Sandero and its ability to travel longer distances, using a very small battery is unlikely.
According to Dacia, the objective is not to achieve a range of 500 to 600 km and recharge times of 20 minutes. The automaker is exploring ways to make battery chemistry less expensive, considering a sodium-based battery, even though the latter allows for less storage.
According to David Durand, design director at Dacia, the next Sandero will fit into the brand’s new style, which will be prefigured by the future Bigster, with games of edges and taut lines. According to him, however, it is not a question of focusing only on SUVs, but of offering vehicles capable of dealing with all conditions, without fear of damaging the vehicle on a bad road. The Sandero will presumably offer enough ground clearance to avoid damage and allow drivers to venture into places they would normally be reluctant to go for fear of scratching doors or damaging underbody.
Finally, note that the future Sandero will not be exclusively electric but also thermal, and that it is likely that this engine will be associated with the hybrid technology recently introduced in the Jogger, itself based on the current Sandero.