Dacia Spring price confirmed – UK’s cheapest EV to cost from £14,995

Dacia has announced that the new Spring EV will cost from less than £15,000 in the UK.

As expected, the Spring’s entry price of just £14,995 makes it the UK’s cheapest new electric car. It also makes it among the cheapest new cars, regardless of powertrain.

The Spring undercuts the nearest new EV rival – the Smart EQ fortwo –  by £7,000, with even the most expensive version weighing in at under £17,000.

While the Citroen Ami is cheaper, it’s officially a quadricycle rather than a car and its 28mph top speed and 48-mile range severely limit its uses.

UK buyers can choose from two trim levels and two power outputs for the Spring. Entry level Expression 45 cars are priced at £14,995 and come with a 44bhp motor. For £15,995 buyers can upgrade to the Expression 65, which features a more powerful, 64bhp motor.

Above Expression trim, Extreme trim is only available with the more powerful motor. It costs £16,995.

All versions of the five-door supermini come with a seven-inch digital instrument cluster, cruise control, rear parking sensors, air conditioning and a Media Control system with USB port for connecting a smartphone. Standard driver aids include emergency braking system, lane change alert and lane keep assist, traffic sign recognition with speed alert, rear park and driver attention warning.

The Extreme trim adds copper interior and exterior finishes, electric mirrors and rear windows, a 10-inch touchscreen with sat nav and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Extreme models also get bi-directional charger to power external appliances from the Spring’s battery.

All versions of the Spring have a 26.8kWh battery offering up to 137 miles of range. To keep costs down, its maximum DC charging rate is 30kW, which can take the battery from 20% to 80% in 45 minutes. The Spring can be charged from 20% to 100% in four hours on a 7kW wall box.

Dacia is famous for selling some of the country’s cheapest cars and the previous generation of the Spring was a huge hit as Europe’s cheapest EV. The all-new version is available to order in the UK for the first time, with customer deposits of just £99. Deliveries are expected to start in October.

Luke Broad, Dacia brand director for the UK, said: “Spring has played a key part in widespread adoption of EVs across Europe and, with a price that is even lower than speculated, we’re confident it will continue the success story in the UK.

“We have listened to the concerns of UK drivers regarding accessing EVs, ensuring it not only has an unprecedented price but affordability that doesn’t come at the expense of durability, equipment or usability. Quite simply, there’s no other new EV currently on sale that offers so much for so little.”

The next 12 months are set to bring a range of more affordable EVs as manufacturers put more focus on smaller vehicles. The Citroen e-C3 is expected to start from aroun £22,000 when it goes on sale later this year and the Renault 5 is likely to cost less than £25,000 when it arrives in early 2025. The electric Fiat Panda, which will be revealed later this year is also expected to compete in the sub-£25,000 bracket against the new Volkswagen ID.2.