Budget EV War Heats Up
Dacia Spring Slashes Price to £11,990, Reclaiming UK's Cheapest EV Title Amid Budget Price War
Key Points
European sales momentum: In 2025, the Dacia Spring sold over 17,000 units in Europe, securing second place in the retail EV market for A- and B-segment models.
Leap Grant details: Leapmotor cut the T03 price to £12,995 using a manufacturer-backed Leap Grant that effectively adds around £3,000 savings; the model is built in China and thus not eligible for UK government incentives.
Price-war rationale: Industry analysis suggests the budget-EV price war is driven by manufacturer-backed discounts rather than government subsidies, reflecting strategic positioning and gaps in incentives between locally produced EU models and imports.
Extreme Electric 100 features: The Spring’s top variant is priced at £12,990 and adds a 100hp motor, a 10.1-inch Media Nav Live touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, vehicle-to-load functionality, copper-accented styling, electric rear windows and a reversing camera.
Dacia has cut the price of its Spring electric city car by £4,000 to £11,990, making it once again Britain's cheapest new car — electric or otherwise. The move came just 24 hours after Leapmotor reduced its rival T03 to £12,995, kicking off what looks like an all-out budget-EV price war in the UK, according to Autocar.
The Spring now costs £2,775 less than the petrol Dacia Sandero, priced at £14,765. For the first time, an electric city car is cheaper to buy outright than its combustion-engine equivalent in the same showroom, This Is Money reported.
How a 24-Hour Countdown Triggered the Price Cut
At 09:00 BST on June 30, 2026, Leapmotor celebrated its first UK anniversary by doubling its "Leap Grant" — a manufacturer-backed subsidy — from £1,500 to £3,000. That cut the T03's price to £12,995. By midnight, Dacia had responded. At 00:01 BST on July 1, the Spring's new starting price of £11,990 went live, undercutting Leapmotor by exactly £1,005.
Dacia Brand Director Lina Ribeiro said "production efficiencies" allowed the company to "remove barriers to new car ownership" and pass savings directly to buyers. The key driver was Dacia's switch to a cheaper Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery — a more durable and cost-effective chemistry — in the autumn 2025 refresh, according to Head Topics.
What You Get for £11,990 — and What You Don't
The entry Spring uses a 70hp motor and a 24.3kWh LFP battery good for 140 miles of WLTP range. It can charge from 20% to 80% in 29 minutes on a 40kW fast charger. Boot space hits a generous 308 litres. The base trim gets a 7-inch digital display but skips wireless phone mirroring, This Is Money noted.
Step up £1,000 to the Extreme Electric 100 at £12,990 and you get considerably more. That trim adds a 100hp motor, a 10.1-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, electric rear windows, a reversing camera, vehicle-to-load charging, and copper-accent styling. Both trims share the same 140-mile range figure.
Spring vs. T03: Where Each Model Wins
On paper, the Leapmotor T03 punches harder despite the higher price. It offers a 95hp motor, 165 miles of range, and a 10.1-inch touchscreen with a panoramic sunroof as standard — all features absent from the Spring's base trim. Leapmotor UK Managing Director Damien Dally argued that rivals "don't compare when it comes to the level of technology."
But the Spring fights back on practicality and charging speed. Its 308-litre boot dwarfs the T03's 210-litre luggage area. Its 29-minute fast-charge time also beats the T03's 36-minute 30-to-80% figure. Neither car qualifies for UK government EV grants, since both are currently built in China and incentives favour locally produced models.
ZEV Targets and a Manufacturing Move Shape What Comes Next
The price war is not just about competition. UK law requires 33% of each brand's new car sales to be zero-emission in 2026. Pure electric cars hit roughly 24% of the market in early 2026, leaving manufacturers scrambling to boost volume. SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes warned that the ZEV mandate is putting "UK investment at risk" by setting targets that don't match real demand.
Dacia is already planning ahead. The next-generation Spring, due in 2027, will be built in Slovenia rather than China. That shift could make it eligible for future UK government grants — a significant pricing advantage. The new model will share a platform with the Renault Twingo. In 2025, the Spring sold over 17,000 units across Europe, placing second in retail EV sales for small city cars, according to Head Topics.
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