Renault is building its €17,900 Dacia Spring EV in Europe to qualify for local subsidies

Renault's value brand Dacia is switching production of its low-cost Dacia Spring EV to Europe from China so it can benefit from French subsidies, the company announced. Priced at €17,900 for the base model ($20,789), the Spring will cost as little as €12,200 ($14,169) after French EV credits are applied. Dacia has also redesigned the Spring, making it sit a little higher and adding some sporty allure with a more muscular body design. 

As you'd expect, the Spring has modest specs. The 27.5kWh LFP battery provides just 155 miles of WLTP range (about 133 miles EPA), so it's strictly for city or suburban runs. Optional 50kW DC fast-charging (€500) can bring the battery from 15 to 80 percent in around 28 minutes, while charging from a standard 6.6kW outlet takes nine hours. Dacia noted that Spring owners typically drove just 21 miles per day, with 75 percent charging at home. Performance will be tame, as the Spring offers just 80 horsepower and 129 pound feet of torque.  

Thanks to the new design, it looks less like an econobox through. At 5.9 inches longer and 7.1 inches wider, it's more substantial and spacious. Dacia has re-sculpted the front with more lines and angles, flared the wheel arches a touch and added black accents at the front and rear. 

Storage space is up from 10.9 cubic feet to 11.9 cubic feet, not bad at all for a sub-compact. That rises to 45.3 cubic feet with the 50:50 split rear bench folded down. The Spring will be able to inform and entertain you with a 7-inch digital instrument cluster and 10.1 inch central touchscreen, along with plenty of knobs and switches for tactile control. It's available with features like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a rear parking camera and keyless entry, though you'll need to pay $1,500 extra to get those things. 

The Dacia Spring will be assembled in Novo Mesto, Slovenia, at the same plant where Renault builds its Twingo E-Tech city car. The Spring now appears to be Europe's cheapest EV after incentives, which vary depending on country and your household income. 

The Spring has been a relative success for Renault, with sale of 210,000 units across the world since 2021. It's designed to help Renault meet its ambitious 2030 goal of a 100 percent electrified mix in Europe, with half electric and half hybrid vehicle sales. Europe has ordained that fleet emissions must drop 90 percent by 2035 compared to 2021 levels.