The cheapest electric car on the market in France is already offered by Dacia with its Spring. The city car has also recently received a slight update with the ‘Extreme’ version, which makes it more versatile, especially on secondary roads, but its range is still quite limited, not necessarily enough to make it the first car in the household.

At the end of the year, Renault will introduce its electric R5, a model that will start at €25,000, making it the cheapest electric car with a range of over 400 km on the market. The Citroën ë-C3 could follow suit, even if it will offer less range but a similar price. In 2024, it will be Volkswagen’s turn with its ID.2, with the same price and the same level of autonomy as the R5.

An electric car that fits the essentials

Then the difference between the Spring and the electric R5 will be only a few thousand euros, especially if the rules regarding the environmental bonus become stricter. Thus, Dacia may lose ground, but the brand will have something to answer with its future generation Sandero.

Indeed, according to Dacia boss Denis Le Vot, who confided in English journalists Autocar, Dacia will present ” the new fourth generation Sandero in 2027 or 2028 and it will live until 2034 or 2035″.

But before that, Dacia prefers to look at the segments above, and in particular the C segment with the upcoming production version of the Bigster, an SUV positioned above the Duster. The Duster will also be replaced soon.

Less than €20,000?

Returning to the electric Dacia Sandero, according to Denis Le Vot, it won’t have large batteries or fast charging capabilities because “first of all, it should remain accessible”. The car could be based on the electric Renault 5, but with some tweaks and perhaps a smaller battery.

With the democratization of this energy and the technologies that revolve around it, not to mention the economies of scale achieved by the Renault group, Thus, Dacia will be able to offer its electric Sandero from 20,000 euros broadly based on what Renault will offer in terms of an entry-level electric model with its R5.

Still, 2028 is still a long way off, and it wouldn’t be surprising if prices rose again by then, not to mention the green bonus could disappear as well. The equation is not necessarily easy to solve for Dacia.