The Dacia Spring has finally grown up. First driving impressions from Portugal suggest the €17,890 electric minicar has evolved from a rather crude urban runabout into a surprisingly competent small car.

But behind its European-built credentials lies a distinctly Chinese recipe: a CATL battery, a Chinese electric motor and engineering expertise that helped Renault Group develop the car in just 16 months.

Dacia unveiled its second-generation Spring in September. It promised a more mature electric city car without abandoning its bargain-basement philosophy. The first international road tests near Lisbon suggest it has delivered on that promise.

The new Spring is more comfortable, more stable, and more refined than its predecessor, while retaining a remarkably low price. In Belgium, the Expression starts at €17,890 and the better-equipped Journey at €19,390. Both offer an 82 hp electric motor, a 27.5 kWh LFP battery and up to 250 km of WLTP range.

The real surprise, however, is how Dacia achieved that combination of improved driving qualities and aggressive pricing. As new details are revealed, the answer lies in a blend of Chinese technology, accelerated development and ruthless cost engineering.

Chinese technology, European assembly

Unlike its completely Chinese-built predecessor, based on the decade-old Renault Kwid, the new Spring rolls off the production line at Renault’s Novo Mesto factory in Slovenia. But its European credentials come with an important qualification.

The electric motor comes from Chinese supplier Shanghai E-Drive, while CATL supplies the battery pack. Chinese engineers also contributed to the development, which took just 16 months from design freeze to production.

The Spring shares Renault Group’s RGEV Small platform, wheelbase, and powertrain with the Renault Twingo, but was developed even faster than its French sibling, which took approximately two years to develop. A third relative, the Nissan Pixo, is expected to join the Slovenian production line in 2027.

The strategy combines Chinese development expertise and competitively priced components with European assembly, avoiding the EU’s additional import duties on Chinese-built electric vehicles and making the Spring eligible for production-linked incentives in markets such as France.

Saving hundreds of euros on a screen

But Chinese technology alone does not explain the Spring’s low price. Dacia has scrutinized virtually every component to eliminate unnecessary expenditure.

John Cleworth, Dacia’s director of product performance, told Automotive News Europe that omitting the central touchscreen from the entry-level model alone saves hundreds of euros. Instead, drivers use their smartphones for infotainment, alongside a 7-inch digital instrument display.

Other savings are less obvious. The Spring does without the Twingo’s sliding rear seats and offers just four exterior colors, two trim levels, and a single interior color scheme.

Even the lighting and badges have been redesigned to reduce production costs. Only the upper portion of the rear light signature is illuminated, while the lower section reflects the light. The Dacia lettering is molded directly into the tailgate trim rather than fitted as separate components.

Individually, these measures may save relatively little. Together, they simplify manufacturing and help keep the catalog prices below €20,000.

First drives: surprisingly grown-up

The first independent driving impressions from Portugal – where Renault Group apparently forgot to include Newmobility.news on its invitation list – suggest Dacia has largely delivered on its promise.

Reviewers describe a much more comfortable, stable and refined Spring than its predecessor, without sacrificing its bargain-basement price.

Belgian magazine Le Moniteur Automobile / Autogids recorded an average consumption of just 13 kWh/100 km, while France’s Numerama achieved approximately 12 kWh/100 km over 182 kilometers, suggesting a realistic range of around 230 km. 01net even reported 10.2 kWh/100 km.

Interestingly, those consumption figures aren’t dramatically lower than the 14.4 kWh/100 km we recorded over 4,157 kilometers in our Kia EV6 during a recent road trip through the Alps, Italy, Albania and Greece.

That’s remarkable considering the Kia is 83 cm longer, 14 cm wider and roughly 800 kg heavier than the 1,212 kg Spring. Different routes, speeds and driving conditions make a direct comparison difficult, but they certainly put the smaller Dacia’s efficiency into perspective.

Reviewers particularly praised improved road-holding, suspension comfort, and reduced sensitivity to crosswinds. The Spring now feels much more reassuring outside the city.

However, motorway acceleration remains modest, and some testers reported wind noise, dashboard rattles and a bouncy rear suspension on uneven roads.

The consensus is encouraging: the Spring has evolved from a rudimentary electric runabout into a credible everyday small car. Its modest battery and limited charging capabilities remain the biggest compromises. Longer tests will have to establish its winter and motorway range.

Losing ground in a growing market

Dacia has good reasons to accelerate. The original Spring helped establish Europe’s affordable electric minicar segment, selling more than 210,000 examples since 2021. But competition has caught up.

According to Dataforce figures, Spring registrations fell 4.6% to 24,512 during the first nine months of 2026, even as the electric minicar segment grew 11.4%.

More strikingly, the Renault Twingo, which only started deliveries in June, had already overtaken it with 25,423 registrations. Dacia’s wider European sales were also down 9.8% through September, while the overall market grew by 6%.

Chinese competitors such as the Leapmotor T03 and BYD Dolphin Surf are putting additional pressure on Europe’s traditional budget brands. Upcoming affordable EVs from Volkswagen and Stellantis promise to intensify the battle.

The €20,000 question

Dacia’s official Belgian price list reveals where affordability starts to become a compromise. Both Spring versions come with just 6.6 kW AC charging as standard.

Buyers wanting 50 kW DC fast charging must pay an additional €490 on a pack that also includes 11 kW AC charging and vehicle-to-load (V2L) functionality.

That raises the Expression’s price to €18,380 and the Journey’s to €19,880, before the separately listed €359 delivery kit and €10 environmental contribution. Including these charges, the fast-charging Journey reaches €20,249.

For comparison, the Renault Twingo starts at €19,500 in Belgium, leaving just €110 between the entry-level Renault and the better-equipped Spring Journey before options.

Dacia is betting that its no-frills philosophy, improved driving qualities and aggressive pricing will win back customers. Yet the broader significance goes beyond one electric minicar.

The irony is that Dacia is using Chinese expertise to defend Europe’s budget-car market against the very manufacturers that helped make it possible.