The future of the Dacia Spring in 2024 was uncertain. The cheapest electric car on the market is indeed seeing new competition, embodied by the Citroën ë-C3. In addition, at the same time, Dacia’s electric city car had to say goodbye to the ecological bonus, due to its production in China deemed too polluting, while the small Citroën, produced in Slovakia, should be eligible.
At the end of 2023, Dacia temporarily suspended sales of the Spring. It is now back in the catalog and with prices made more accessible, in order to partly compensate for the loss of the bonus. The Spring is now priced from €18,400 in Essential finish, a reduction of €2,400. By way of comparison, the Citroën ë-C3 You starts at €23,300 excluding bonuses. The latter should very soon increase from €5,000 to €4,000, which would place the Citroën ë-C3 at €19,300, bonus deducted.
The Spring cheaper than the ë-C3, but not more interesting
The Spring would therefore manage to remain less expensive than its main rival, but with a smaller battery (230 km of autonomy for the Dacia compared to 320 km for the Citroën) and a less powerful engine (45 hp for the Dacia compared to 113 hp for the Citroën). The two city cars clearly do not play in the same category and the Citroën ë-C3 therefore seems significantly more interesting, despite a barely higher price.
Where the Spring partly makes up for it is with its “high-end” Extreme version, sold for €19,900. Equipped with a 65 hp engine, which remains far from the power of the ë-C3, it nevertheless offers relatively complete equipment.
For its part, the ë-C3 You at €19,300 bonus deducted is certainly very well placed, but with modest equipment. To benefit from the reversing camera or even the electric rear windows, it is for example obligatory to opt for the only other finishing level in the catalog: ë-C3 Max. Unfortunately, it requires a significant extension of €4,500, bringing the price of the Citroën ë-C3 Max to €23,800 with bonus deducted. It is perhaps therefore in this gap left by Citroën between the two finishing levels of its ë-C3 that the Spring has a (small) role to play.
Significant developments for the Dacia Spring are expected in 2024. Let’s hope that they will allow the city car to regain interest and that the Spring will improve its road behavior, far from current standards.