Dacia – ADVERTISEMENT Where Renault Twingo electric and Dacia Spring 2 can be built

The partnership between Renault and Smart for the production of the Twingo and For Four could continue into the next generation, transforming the French model into an electric car. Dacia Spring, with its second generation, can benefit from this partnership.

The head of Renault, Luca de Meo, announced that the Twingo will have a new generation, fully electric, which will offer a price below 20,000 euros. The Twingo concept car was shown for the first time in the studio where De Meo announced the plans for the new company Ampere, which will take over the development and production of electric vehicles of the Renault brand from this year.

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The news was surprising, although the head of Renault had announced two years ago an electric car for 20,000 euros. It is about the Renault 5, which in 2021 had the target of that price, but which today proves to be impossible in a class B car. Instead, Luca de Meo is determined to go below this price threshold with a small Twingo model.

However, considering the current costs of batteries, many analysts have wondered how Renault will be able to produce an electric car in Europe that costs less than €20,000, considering that Volkswagen, for example, has not yet dared to make a final decision for such a competition. example.

The answer seems to also come from China, although Renault no longer wants to produce cars there, not even the Dacia Spring. It is about cooperation with Geely, which currently takes shape in two projects and may be extended to a third. The first two partnerships are the South Korean factory, where Geely has taken a small stake and will produce cars, on its platform, and, secondly, the engine company, where the Chinese will collaborate with the Horse division, which has also been modified. in different companies.

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The starting point of the new project, on class A cars, is the current collaboration between Renault and Mercedes, which is shown in the production of the Twingo and the current electric Smart For Four, which is produced at the Renault factory in Slovenia. (Smart For Four was discontinued last year).

This plant will also take over the production of the next generation Renault Twingo, as well as the new Smart, but this time it was built on the Geely platform, which already produces two Smart models, #1 and #3m in another partnership with Mercedes-Benz. The news has not yet been officially confirmed, but it was published by L’Argus, a newspaper with reliable sources within the Renault Group.

Such a decision may also have an impact on Dacia, which will launch a new generation of the Spring model in 2027-2028. It needs some real features to be able to be sold in Europe. First, it needs a better price than the current one, which means it could be cheaper than next Spring. A difference of at least €3,000 would be needed for both models to find customers in Europe, meaning the Spring could cost less than €17,000.

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The second detail is related to the place of production. Given that France has already removed electric cars made in China from subsidies, Dacia is forced to bring this model to Europe, and the only factory where manufacturing space is still available is that of Slovenia, where labor costs are closer to Romania than France. which will contribute to the reduced price of this model.

Until then, it remains to be seen if the goal of producing a Renault 5 at a price below the 25,000 euro level can be achieved, as the car is very little left until the market launch, scheduled for February 2024.