LJUBLJANA (Slovenia): Renault SA is set to start sales of its overhauled electric Dacia Spring, which will be assembled in Europe to qualify for incentives favoring local production.
The new Spring, selling from €17,900 (RM84,700), will be produced in Novo Mesto in Slovenia, the same plant where Renault assembles another electric city car, the Twingo E-Tech.
Since its launch in 2021, the model sold well though the competition in Europe has become more intense, with Stellantis NV introducing the Citroen e-C3 and Leapmotor T03, while BYD Co's is offering the Dolphin Surf.
The new Spring, longer and wider that the previous version to allow for a more spacious interior and generous trunk, comes with a lithium-iron phosphate battery for as much as 250km of driving range.
The decision to produce the new Dacia Spring and the Renault Twingo in Slovenia "is a big bet on Europe," Renault Chief Growth Officer Fabrice Cambolive said at a press event.
"To fend off Chinese competition, better to have both a Spring and a Twingo instead of only a Twingo or only a Spring."
The Spring was previously produced in China, which caused the vehicle to lose French incentives tweaked in the past few years so as to favor vehicles made in the European Union.
The second-generation Spring is one of four new EVs Dacia plans to roll out by 2030.
Long considered the group's biggest growth engine, the budget brand has been sputtering in recent months due to a limited offering of EVs compared to peers, at a time high fuel prices pushing buyers to snap up battery cars.
During the first half of this year, sales of electric-only vehicles have surged by more than one-third in Europe to capture over 16% of total demand.
The new Spring, fully redesigned and built on a new platform, was developed in 16 months, part of an effort by Renault Chief Executive Officer Francois Provost to roll out models more quickly to better compete with Chinese rivals.
