Automotive News Europe — 2025-01-08
Automotive Industry
Renault’s Dacia brand has cut the price of its low-cost Spring electric vehicle by €2,000 in France, part of a wave of expected discounts in Europe this year to boost stagnant EV sales as new CO2 emissions targets take effect.
Automakers in Europe are expected to rely on discounts to push more EV sales to help them meet tougher new emissions rules in the European Union. Government incentives have been rolled back in major markets including Germany and France, increasing the list price by thousands of euros on EVs.
Experts and automakers say that at least 20% of all European sales by most car companies must be EVs to avoid heavy fines, but only 13% of vehicles sold in the region during the first 11 months of 2024 were electric, according to the lobbying group ACEA.
Dacia, the region’s leading low-cost brand, said it was dropping the entry price of its electric Spring to €16,900 before incentives, closing the gap with a rival model from China’s Leapmotor, which sells cars in Europe in a joint venture with Stellantis.
Leapmotor recently cut the price of its T03 by €4,000 to €14,900, keeping its position as the cheapest EV in the region.
Other major automakers cutting prices on their EVs include Volkswagen, which is selling the ID3 compact for less than €30,000 in France and Germany. The price in France includes a €4,000 government bonus as well as €4,000 contributed by VW. In Germany, VW is kicking in €3,500 to reach the price target.
New Spring variant has smaller electric motor
The new Spring will also be less powerful, with a 33-kilowatt electric motor, compared with the 48-kW motor in the more expensive version.
Both versions use the same 26.8-kilowatt-hour battery, allowing for the same driving range of about 225 km.
The discount on the Spring has already taken effect in some other European markets.
The Spring had been Europe’s least-expensive EV, but it is made in China by a Renault partner, meaning that it is now subject to punitive tariffs and is no longer eligible for an EV bonus in France. The original French price of the Spring was €12,000 when it was launched in 2021, including EV bonus.
An earlier round of EV price cuts starting in mid-2023 was led by Tesla, which reduced the price of its Model Y midsize SUV and Model 3 midsize sedan by up to 20 percent in Europe, China and the US after it missed its 2022 delivery targets.