Starting from £14,995 ($A29,000), the Darcia Spring will soon lay claim to being Britain’s lowest cost EV, coming in at just over half the cost of the previous title holder.
The Darcia Spring has no great ambitions as a performance car, but its starting price is £12,000 cheaper than Britain’s current cheapest EV, the MG4, and it is sure to get a lot of attention. According to Darcia’s website, the Spring has a 33kW rear-wheel motor, a 137 mile (220km) driving range and a 20-80% charging time of 45 mins.
Despite its much smaller 26.8 kWh battery pack, which is less than half the capacity of the entry level Tesla Model Y, the Spring will have more than enough range for most city commuters who can easily fully recharge overnight.
Destined for the right-hand drive UK market, the Chinese built Spring could also be well suited for the Australian market.
According to This is Money the Spring was the third most sold electric car to “retail customers” in Europe in 2022 and 2023 with over 140,000 sales over the two years.
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.’
Daniel Bleakley is a clean technology researcher and advocate with a background in engineering and business. He has a strong interest in electric vehicles, renewable energy, manufacturing and public policy.
