- Dacia goals to launch an electrical model of Europe’s hottest car, the Sandero.
- It will likely be a variant of the redesigned next-gen Sandero, not a standalone mannequin.
- It is more likely to share its batteries and motors with new Renault EVs just like the 4 and 5 E-Tech.
Renault-owned Romanian automaker Dacia had an ideal 2024, promoting 676,340 autos globally. Its best-seller was the Sandero hatchback, Europe’s hottest new car, promoting virtually 310,000 models final 12 months. Now, Dacia desires to construct on the combustion mannequin’s success, so it plans to launch an electrical variant towards the top of 2027.
That is “nice information” for a automobile that is turn out to be immensely standard for its affordability—and is well-known internationally by followers of golden-age High Gear as a type of operating bit in its information segments. However joke apart, the Sandero has been successful that additionally will not break the financial institution, and now it is transferring past gasoline too.
Dacia Sandero (2027), rendered by Motor1.com
We don’t have a lot to go on proper now, however based on Automotive Information, Dacia CEO Denis Le Vot revealed {that a} pure electrical Sandero is within the works. He went on to say that Dacia plans to launch no less than two new EVs by the top of the last decade, when the producer’s solely present EV, the China-made Spring, will doubtless be phased out.
Picture by: Dacia
Dacia Spring (2024) evaluation
The Spring bought a big replace final 12 months, making it way more eye-catching than earlier than and in addition giving the inside a much-needed makeover. Nevertheless, gross sales of the Spring in Europe fell dramatically in 2024 after many international locations diminished or eradicated EV buy incentives. The Spring is now additionally topic to hefty import duties imposed on electrical autos manufactured in China.
However Dacia is clearly not giving up on making extra reasonably priced EV choices. The brand new electrical Sandero will doubtless be inbuilt Europe, however whether or not it can roll out of Dacia’s residence plant in Romania stays to be seen. The manufacturing unit doesn’t presently construct any EVs, and it might require important funding and retooling to permit it to construct battery-powered vehicles. Dacia hasn’t publicly introduced plans for any such funding but.
This implies it might be constructed alongside Renault’s different EVs in one of many producer’s European factories. The Renault 5 E-Tech is constructed on the Renault ElectriCity facility in Douai, whereas the 4 E-Tech is made by Maubeuge Building Car. It’s possible to think about that both of those crops might additionally construct Dacia-badged EVs.
Dacia will doubtless use the front-wheel-drive Renault AmpR Small platform (also referred to as CMF-B EV, a variant of the CMF-B platform utilized in immediately’s Sandero) to underpin the brand new electrical mannequin. Identical to the Renault 4 and 5 EVs, the Sandero EV might have two battery pack sizes (40 kWh and 52 kWh) and a base energy output of 95 hp. Probably the most potent variant might get a 150 hp motor that ought to make it really feel fairly spritely.
Optimistically, the electrical Sandero might be a worthy competitor to the various new electrical choices coming to Europe from China—and finally, Volkswagen as properly. And if it could recreate the recipe for the combustion-powered Sandero, it needs to be successful in its personal proper.
Autocar not too long ago reported that Dacia was giving the Sandero a whole redesign for its subsequent era, however the mannequin will stay a hatchback—it gained’t turn out to be a crossover. There’ll nonetheless be a high-riding Sandero Stepway variant, however the producer goals to distance it farther from the common hatchback with the following era.
Dacia design boss David Durand additionally clarified that the EV will simply be a variant of the common Sandero, not a standalone mannequin. So, it can doubtless appear to be the common mannequin however with a closed-off grille, aerodynamic wheels and badging to set it aside.
The opposite EV coming from Dacia will certainly be a crossover of kinds. The producer might capitalize on the success of the Duster identify and simply create a Duster EV, or it might launch a wholly new electrical crossover mannequin. Nevertheless, this may doubtless be revealed after the electrical Sandero, which needs to be revealed (most likely in a close-to-production idea type) someday in 2026, forward of its launch one 12 months later.
