Dacia’s New Spring Leaves China for Slovenia, and Could Cost Under €12,000

Dacia just revealed the second generation Spring, and the most consequential change is where it’s now built.The new Spring is built at Renault Group’s Novo Mesto plant in Slovenia, the same site that builds the latest Twingo E-Tech, and that move alone puts it back in line for various local incentives, like France’s Coup de Pouce CEE, worth between €3,620 and €6,180 depending on income. Stack the top incentive on top of the Expression trim’s €17,900 starting price and the effective cost could fall below €12,000. That’s conditional on the car actually clearing the required eco score, though.

Everything about the car changes too, according to Dacia’s own press release. Built on Renault Group’s new RG-EV small platform, the new Spring is 18 cm wider and 15 cm longer than the outgoing model, which Dacia says goes straight into interior space and a 337 litre boot, a large number for this class of car. It’s also the first Dacia built under Renault Group’s newer development process, which the brand says cuts design time to under two years. The previous generation sold more than 210,000 units across over forty countries since 2021, and Dacia frames the redesign as the next chapter of that success story.

Everything about the car changes too, according to Dacia’s own press release. Built on Renault Group’s new RG-EV small platform, the new Spring is 18 cm wider and 15 cm longer than the outgoing model, which Dacia says goes straight into interior space and a 337 litre boot, a large number for this class of car. It’s also the first Dacia built under Renault Group’s newer development process, which the brand says cuts design time to under two years. The previous generation sold more than 210,000 units across over forty countries since 2021, and Dacia frames the redesign as the next chapter of that success story.

The Spring’s LFP battery holds 27.5 kWh usable capacity for up to 250 km of WLTP range, driven by a 60 kW (80 hp) motor good for a 12.1 second run to 100 km/h. Charging scales with what you’re willing to plug into: 15 to 80% takes 9 hours on a domestic socket with the standard 6.6 kW charger, drops to 2 hours 55 minutes on a 7 kW wallbox, and falls to just 28 minutes on a 50 kW DC fast charger with the optional Charge Pack.

So What About the Price?

Both trims sit under the €20,000 mark Dacia has defended since Spring’s 2021 launch, even as rivals have crowded in around that price point. Bloomberg’s coverage of the reveal points to the Citroën ë-C3, Leapmotor T03 and BYD’s Dolphin Surf as the competition Dacia is now pricing directly against, on top of Chinese brands like Geely pushing similarly sized EVs toward the €15,000 mark globally. Slovenia’s labour costs, well below France or Germany, are part of what lets Dacia hold its price down despite leaving China behind.

The outgoing, China built Spring carries a 1 star Euro NCAP rating from 2021, one of the weakest scores of any car on sale in Europe, and Euro NCAP itself criticised Dacia at the time for pairing an affordable EV with such poor occupant protection. I looked at cars in this exact situation in EVs I wouldn’t recommend buying because of poor Euro NCAP ratings. That’s a test result to wait for before treating this as an easy recommendation.

Whatever the safety picture turns out to be, the pricing story is the one Dacia most wants told. It already sits among the cheapest EVs in Europe for 2026, and depending on how national incentives shake out, this new generation could push even further into territory that the best electric cars under €25,000 don’t usually reach.

FAQ

How much does the new Dacia Spring cost?
Prices start at €17,900 for the Expression trim and €19,400 for the Journey trim, keeping the full range under €20,000.

What is the range and battery size of the new Dacia Spring?
The new Spring uses a 27.5 kWh usable LFP battery for up to 250 km of WLTP range, with a 60 kW, 80 hp motor.