Affordable EV on the Horizon: Dacia’s New City Car
Dacia is hard at work on a new, super-affordable electric city car. With a targeted launch date sometime in 2026, this new EV is set to shake things up in the budget-friendly electric vehicle market.
The new model will be built on the same platform as the upcoming Renault Twingo EV. The development process is remarkably swift, taking only 16 months.
This quick turnaround is possible, in part, because the new Dacia EV will share its underpinnings with the new electric Renault Twingo.
This new electric vehicle will be priced around €18,000, equivalent to roughly $18,800.
Dacia’s current electric vehicle success story is the Spring model, which sold over 140,000 units in Europe between 2021 and 2024. The Spring’s main drawback, though, is being manufactured in China through a Renault joint venture. Dacia’s new EV, in contrast, will be manufactured in Europe. This local production will dodge import taxes imposed on electric cars coming into the European Union.
A sketch of the new Dacia EV, possibly a hatchback or crossover.
This new EV is expected to best the Spring in roominess and technology. Keep in mindthat the Spring is based on the reengineered Renault Kwid, designed to be as cheap as possible.
Dacia executives are confident in the new EV’s price point. The company is aiming for roughly the same price as today’s China-made Spring.
There’s also a teaser sketch previewing the new model, showing a small hatchback style. It’s possible Dacia will release both a standard and a raised Stepway variant, which should attract crossover buyers.
Dacia is proud of the short development time. The new EV will share elements with the Renault Twingo, which boasts a design reminiscent of the 1990s. The Twingo EV utilizes less components to lower building cost.
It remains to be seen if the new little Dacia EV will be built at the company’s home plant in Romania, however it is slated to be unveiled and released in 2026. That’s one year before the next-generation Sandero, which will also get a fully electric variant.
