Dacia has reclaimed the title of Britain’s cheapest new car just a day after Chinese brand Leapmotor reduced the price of its Leapmotor T03 model to £12,995. A sizeable price cut for Dacia’s all-electric Spring, has brought the starting price down to £11,990 on the road.
That’s not just enough to put the Chinese-built Spring back ahead of its closest rival, but to do so by a fair margin. The Leapmotor T03 had taken the cheapest-new-car crown for 24 hours with a new £12,995 price after the brand’s Leap-Grant discount was doubled to £3,000. However, the Dacia is now £1,005 less expensive.
It means the Spring is once again the least costly new car on sale in the UK, whether buyers are looking at electric models or petrol-powered alternatives. And, with electric cars still often seen as out of reach for plenty of new-car buyers, it is a price that is likely to get noticed.
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The new entry point is for the Spring Expression Electric 70, with the price including delivery, first registration fee and first-year vehicle excise duty. Dacia says savings from production efficiencies have allowed it to bring the cost down further.
Despite the bargain-basement price, Dacia says the Spring still comes with the basics most buyers would expect. Standard kit includes air conditioning, cruise control, rear parking sensors, a digital driver display and Dacia’s Media Control system, which uses steering-wheel buttons and a smartphone to run the car’s infotainment.
Buyers wanting a little more can step up to the Spring Extreme Electric 100, which costs £12,990 on the road – still a fiver less than the cheapest Leapmotor T03. That is just £1,000 more than the entry-level Spring, but brings a more powerful 100bhp motor, a 10.1-inch central screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a reversing camera and electric rear windows.
The Extreme also gets vehicle-to-load capability, allowing electricity from the car’s battery to power external devices. There are copper-coloured styling details, too, for those who want their budget EV to look a little less budget.
The Spring was recently updated with stronger motors, a new lithium iron phosphate battery, revised suspension and upgraded brakes. Dacia says the little five-door can travel up to 140 miles between charges under official WLTP testing, while a rapid charger can take the battery from 20 to 80 per cent in as little as 29 minutes.
It is a compact car, of course, but Dacia says it remains practical for its size. The boot holds 308 litres with the rear seats in place, increasing to 1,004 litres when they are folded down. There is also Dacia’s YouClip accessory system, designed to make it easier to attach everyday bits and pieces around the cabin.
Lina Ribeiro, Dacia brand director for the UK, said: “Dacia has always worked hard to remove barriers to new car ownership, and with Spring’s new pricing, it takes our purpose further than ever. Production efficiencies and a strong drive to continue to offer real value to our customers have helped us pass on the savings and as such the most affordable new car on the market, electric or otherwise, is one of the smartest value choices on the road today. When the price is clear and the running costs are low, going electric simply makes sense.”
The new pricing puts a particularly sharp focus on the Spring’s battle with the Leapmotor T03. The Chinese-built T03 has a larger battery, more power and more standard equipment, but its previous advantage was a very low price. Dacia’s latest move means buyers can now get into a brand-new electric car for under £12,000 – and with more than £1,000 still in their pocket compared with its closest price rival.
