The Dacia Spring â Europeâs cheapest electric car â will be heavily restyled for 2024 to help it fend off competition from newer, European-designed affordable EVs.
Based on the Chinese-market Renault Kwid K-ZE, the four-seat city car is âlacking a bit of modernityâ, according to Dacia design boss David Durand, and it âneeds to be reconsidered to express more of this electric trendâ.
Durand said the updated Spring â expected to soon be confirmed for UK sales â wonât stray too far from the ethos of the current car, which has sold 120,000 units in Europe since its 2021 launch.
âThe general recipe of the Spring is a good one,â he said, as âyou have a lot of [bumps] with other cars when you park. âCityâ doesnât mean safe environment.â
He added: âWe noticed that a lot of people in the far suburbs or even in the countryside have a Spring as a second car. It doesnât mean that the Spring is going off road, but itâs not really a centre/urban car.â
As a result, it is highly likely to remain a baby SUV with upright proportions and plastic protective body cladding but be brought closer in line with Daciaâs full-sized line-up by gaining new light signatures, wheel designs, colour options and trim elements.
An interior refresh could be on the cards as well, with new technological features and materials among the possibilities.
It is unclear if there will be any changes to the Springâs 44bhp drivetrain or 28.6kWh battery, but Dacia CEO Denis Le Vot said âif we did [the Spring] again, I would cut the battery in halfâ because the average Spring in Europe covers just 10 miles per day.