Dacia Spring replacement coming in 2026

Dacia is preparing to launch a new compact electric car to replace the Spring as its entry-level model.

The £15,000 A-segment hatchback will be closely related to the Renault Twingo and is expected to bring significant technological upgrades over the Dacia Spring – currently the UK’s cheapest EV.

Renault Group CEO Luca De Meo confirmed the group was already developing the new car, which will be priced similarly to the Spring. He declared: “We’re preparing to go one step further in terms of EV affordability”, and said the car would come to market within 16 months, adding: “I defy any competitor in the world to do that.”

De Meo said the model would reach showrooms by mid-2026, shortly after the Renault Twingo – which took just 21 months to develop – is launched. He said the car would be “a true Dacia” and offer the “best value for money” with a starting price of less than €18,000 (£15,000).

He also revealed that the new Dacia EV will be built in Europe. The Spring is currently built in China and based on an older platform designed for emerging markets. Building the new model in Europe will avoid tariffs on Chinese-built EVs and using the same Ampr Small platform as the Renault 4 and 5 will allow it to feature more up-to-date technology.

While de Meo didn’t reveal any technical details, it’s likely that the Spring’s replacement will offer improvements over the current cars’ 64bhp and 27kWh battery, which offers up to 139 miles of range.

As well as confirming a new entry-level Dacia, de Meo reaffirmed Renault’s ambition for the related Twingo and said he expected it to be a game-changer in the same way as the original Twingo.

He said that the reborn city car would offer best-in-class efficiency with up to 6m/kWh from a new LFP battery, and had cut production costs by 40% compared to the Renault 5 thanks to a ‘dramatically’ reduced complexity.

He said: “In 2019 our cars had between 2,200 and 2,600 parts on average. The new Twingo will have around 750. Compared to the Renault 5, that’s a reduction of 30%. It’s a completely different way of designing the cars. We pushed for the systematic reuse of on-the-shelf parts. So before the Renaulution our carry-over never exceeded 50%. Now we achieve up to 80%. And the bottom line is a price that will be below €20,000 (£16,500) without subsidies. That’s less than €100 per month.”