Dacia moves Spring EV production from China to Slovenia, keeps sub-€20,000 price

Dacia has unveiled a second-generation Spring built in Slovenia rather than China, making the budget EV eligible for EU subsidies and free of tariffs on Chinese-made cars. Priced from €17,900, it's the first of four Dacia EVs due by 2030. The relocation comes as Chinese rivals take record European EV market share.

Bottom line — Dacia's shift to Slovenian production preserves a sub-€20,000 EV as Chinese rivals push into Europe.

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• The first Spring sold 210,000 units since 2021 but missed French subsidies because it was made in China, per Reuters.
• France's EV registrations hit record 35% and 38% shares in July and August, driven by fuel prices tied to the Iran war, according to Reuters.
• The Spring sits on Renault's RG-EV platform shared with the Twingo; development took under two years, per The Next Web.
• Dacia chose an LFP battery because iron and phosphate avoid the nickel and cobalt supply chains Europe doesn't control, The Next Web says.
• Dacia says first-gen Spring owners drove 34 km a day and three-quarters charged at home, according to The Next Web.
• UK pricing starts under €21,000 (£18,000), and the car may qualify for around €4,400 (£3,750) in grants, according to Autocar.
• If the grant applies, the Spring cedes the UK's cheapest-car title to the €15,200 (£12,995) Leapmotor T03, Autocar notes.
• Dacia design chief David Durand told CAR that only the Spring's name carried over from the old model.

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