@@darrendavies1208I think Jim's train of thought (and he's correct) is you can buy some seriously good EVs out there for £15 used, a Hyundai Ioniq 38kwh for starters or Even Kia E-Niro's at that price . The Dacia will lose a couple of grand as you drive off the forecourt , then the base model can't be DC charged . So basically it's probably worth £13k as you pull onto your drive from picking it up , it's range is limited, it's charging is limited, it doesn't have the acceleration of plain boring EVs like the leaf that makes city driving so much easier. A wise person with £15k in their back pocket will buy a used EV rather than a very, very compromised EV that loses value like it's parked next to a black hole !
@@davefitzpatrick4841 well, yes, but you can't really compare used to new. How about come back when the Dacia is 1 years old and is 9k ? Plus, if you were a business buying for company use, you can claim the whole lot back , which you can't with used. I agree a used car may be a better option at 15k. A one year old Leaf, Zoe, Corsa, will all be more capable, but they are not new. You mentioned the Dacia loosing money like a black hole, but the most you can loose is 15k and that's if you drove it off a cliff. All those other cars have already lost a hell of a lot more than that.
It will sell well. For someone who wants a cheap city runabout or for a local commute its ideal. With all these low emission zones popping up its bound to be popular. A lot of people just want peace of mind with having a new car with a warranty.
Yesterday’s telegraph : Sadiq Khan to impose congestion charge on electric vehicles. Ooops. The rest of the world predicted the WEF intention for years.
I’d say it has a wider appeal than that. Average commute journey is around 11 miles, average speeds quite modest. The Spring is all anyone needs, especially the higher powered one. Of course a secondhand car is less than a new one. But many people *want* a new car with a full warranty and £15-16k is a lot more approachable than the next option up at around £25k.
@@FéargalO Phew, I'm glad I don't need to walk to the shop and then back carrying my shopping ... especially when it's 27 miles round trip and no public transport!
The monthly payments will be key for Dacia, if they can do £100 deposit/£100 a month then they will sell loads! It's easy to forget that some new quadricycles are at a similar price level as the Spring...
Dacia knows it's market, this is going to be very popular with the over 60's, especially a lot of women who want something easy to drive and control. Also older drivers often have low mileage cars to part exchange making this even cheaper and they want the reassurance of a long warranty which you don't get with used cars. Ultimately this could well be the last car many older drivers own so depreciation doesn't really matter either. Despite there being millions of drivers over the age of 60 in the UK, they rarely get a mention in car reviews.
Would an older driver not still prefer something 6 months old without so many compromises? I don’t really see why age alone would make someone desire a car with lots of limitations over one at a similar price with very few. I’ve got no problem with anyone who does by the way.
We're currently looking at a small used EV as our 2nd EV; the Corsa, Mini and Honda-e are currently top of the list. The Dacia is the answer to all those ill-informed about EVs being too expensive and only for the rich forgetting that more than 70% of buyers by used.
I do agree with this pov, I've never bought new. but some people will just buy new, because its new. it works out well for you and I because we can go out a buy a cheap 3 year old car where the only reason the car is being getting rid of is because the finance plan has run its course. every 2nd hand car was new once, the market functions because people buy new cars, so I think it should be judged on its own terms, ie a cheap new car.
As a cheap new car it’s not offering much. It’s like giving me half a loaf of bread and telling me it’s cheaper than a new one. Cheap to me means value for money.
I look at the Dacia Spring as something better than the Citroën Ami. That being said, without thermal protection on the battery it is not really a BEV and I'm convinced it will be worthless in 5 years+. I am definitely in "Jim's Camp" in that there are brilliant second-hand EVs out there.
Yep, absolutely agree with you. There definitely is a need for the Spring class of car but cheap as it seems it really needs to be priced at 10k-12k to make sense. At 15k starting price it makes far more sense to get a second hand EV as you mentioned.
I really don't understand why anyone would buy a new EV. For the price of a new Leaf you could get a 2 year old EQA or Tesla. Sub £20 retail you have such a huge choice of nearly new EVs. I think they now represent excellent value on the used car market.
A 1 year old entry-level Dacia Spring will probably sell for much less than £10k, and I think that’s the fair comparison to make. Not my cup of tea, but someone will buy it.
I can just never see a point in time where this is the best thing you can get for your money, even when it gets to half it's new price I'd still suggest there will be far better used alternatives for the same money. A pint of milk will always be cheaper than two pints but one gives you a lot less VFM.
Very good analogy with the pros and cons, most balanced simple talk with out waffle. I live in Guernsey with a 15 to 20 minute journey times at the most. I’m thinking the Dacia will be perfect for the island with a maximum speed limit of 35 mph along with the competitive pricing the car should sell by the bucket load like the existing Dacia have.
I don’t really see a time/price where it becomes interesting to me, if it got under a grand maybe but there are going to be more interesting alternatives at most price points. The lack of DC charging and 19 second 0-60 time are the main reasons I’d pretty much always take almost anything else.
You summed up the problem with cheap small cars. They are not competing with other new cars, they compete with near new used cars. In its own terms the Spring looks OK, its just the depreciation of EVs has been so great that its not competative. (That said, the market may evolve & EV prices firm a bit if people get more confidence over battery health.) Making it easy to check battery health on a used EV will make a big difference to the used market on + 20,000 mile EVs. When people can see what they are getting easily prices will firm from here.
Excellent video...pretty brave purchase to buy the spring considering the used and nearly new current car market..you would have to be a massive Dacia fan maybe...if that even exists.
quite agree, the range is poor, the acceleration lethal, so the corsa makes more sense, but don't forget tesla are producing the Tesla 2 and MG are launching the MG 2 EV, both rumoured for under 20K with an LFP battery, which is better than the current Li being fitted to "cheap" cars
Yeah, unfortunately I think Dacia have missed the boat with this one. If they'd released a RHD version of the original Spring in the UK two years ago, when they released it in Europe, I think they would've sold like hot cakes. Now there's such a massive market for almost new EVs at similar prices in the UK, the Spring doesn't really make much sense.
My main concern with buying a second hand EV is battery life. Replacing the battery on an EV costs thousands of pounds, which many people wouldn't be able to afford. EVs for me are not economical for me to even entertain at the moment.
Each to their own eh. There’s a lot of nonesense printed about it and spoken about battery life generally though. A bit of research on forums is a good idea and you can always test the battery life before you buy but nothing is for everyone 👍
Yeah, it makes no sense buying a new Dacia Spring, when that nearly Corsa ev you showed is the same price as well.👍 A car that is superior to the Spring in every way.👍👌👍 I suppose the Spring is higher up for a better driving position & better for your back if you have back problems & smaller in length for easier parking.👍 & It might depreciate less than the Corsa cos it's a mini SUV & it will be rarer on UK roads than the Corsa & that would be about it IMO.🤔🤨🤨
I applaud Dacia for what they've achieved and I have a Logan MCV which I bought less than 4 years old for £4.5k. However, I've never seen the attraction of buying new when it'll drop like a stone in value within months. If it was just me and the wife without the 6' teenage boys I'd get it for no more than £5k just a couple of years old and charge from home. The ultimate cheap motor.
There is nothing clever or innovative about this car it's just been built down to a price. The range is the issue especially as the industry experts advise only charging cars between 20 and 80 percent. There will be some urban dwellers/workers who it's suitable for but with such a short range it's very inflexible. Thank you for a spot on video that doesn't follow the herd.
I think I'd buy a new Spring before I bought a new Corsa E, seeing the depreciation on those! Must admit, I tend to buy nearly new cars and let someone else take the initial depreciation. The last couple I have bought have been Korean, with a longer manufacturer's warranty than most new cars.
Too small for me, but if you can lease it for peanuts and it costs virtually nothing to charge at home, then it may well be a great option. I can see these selling well. Do agree though, a year old Corsa/e208 type EV or even a Niro make a much better buy if they’re low mileage.
Yes Jim, £100 a month lease is going to be the 'way'. Must be possible £10k or less (?) in costs to lease company/manufacturer £1200 back a year plus ZEV mandate credits to help.
While some deals on other EVs have a good headline monthly the so called deposit normally brings them to a much higher figure. I'd see the Spring as needing to be no more than £1500 per year total costs over 2 years 10,000 miles, otherwise something better will be available for not much more either as a 'desperation' lease or a secondhand buy that you'd need to keep a bit longer (5yrs).
You say your worried about the depreciation on it but I don’t think it will be as bad as for some of the premium EVs that you see people talk about on RU-vid. There’s a guy on here (The MacMaster) who bangs on and on about how he hates his 120k Porsche Taycan because in two years it has depreciated so much that he is being offered 29k for it by the Car buying websites and his Porsche dealer won’t even take it back in PX. That represents around a 75% loss in value in 2 years for the Taycan. I can’t really see the same amount of depreciation for the Dacia because that would equate to a 2 year old one being sold for about 4k!! That could t happen! Could it? 🤔
I guess it could happen. If you want to protect yourself against EV depreciation then lease a new one or buy a used one. The MacMaster is making way too much from his videos to ever get rid of that Porsche; imagine how few he'd get if he liked it eh ;)
This is the Citroen C1 / Aygo / 107 all over again BUT electric. That C1 / Aygo sold by the bucket load, WHY? Because its simple, no gadgets, cheap to run , cheap to own, it gave you all you needed to drive 95% of the time for bugger all cost. I bought a C1 new in 2008 for £6105 pounds, Insurance £120 a yea £20 road tax. A fully legal on the road cost of £140 a year, fully comp! and it genuinely does 40-60 to the gallon. It weighs very little, so it doesn't need 150hp. The tiny engine hustles it along nicely, there's speed camera's every mile so save your licence and insurance costs by not driving fast. 16 years later, we STILL have the C1, what faults in 16 years? Peeling lacquer on a red car. Nothing else. I notice the c1 is now 12,000 pounds. So, yes, this new little EV doesn't have much in terms of gadgets, but it got a massive amount more than most fossil fuel engines we all currently drive. Also, it only drive about 100-120 miles between 4 hours charge on a proper home charger. Oh no... my 2 miles a day to work means I'll need to charge it a few times a month, the horror! Doing the weekly shop, driving to work, going out never many miles so the small range is perfect. If I want to drive the whole of the UK on a holiday, then I'll take the petrol powered car. As a second car, no frill, no fuss, no expensive toys fitted, this car will do 95% of all our driving needs. I'm off to buy the silver 65hp one now! We don't want bigger, heavier, more equipment, 2nd hand with more range, we only do a few miles a day. We want simple, low cost, clever full EV's, brand new for not much money.
Oh yeah, I WANT a lever on the floor to pull up to apply the hand brake so I can drift it around the bollard on the exit to the Saga bingo centre before I floor it home to my Horlicks.
I think it will sell well but like you a used car would make so much more sense for a personal buy. A lot of people like the idea of new though don't they?
Can pick up a 1-2 year old Zoe with much better battery pack and technology and looks a lot better and still walk away with money in the pocket there are some great deals on used Zoes
IMHO Jim this is a wast of resources. It may make sense running around Paris etc but I believe that the range will be closer to 100miles outside of the labs and as you say get a better car for the same sort of money second hand.
Agree with you 100%. As a second car for commuting it's near on perfect. The entry level is nigh on useless. Many ICE cars would leave it standing at roundabouts and traffic lights and in todays "got to get there quickly" culture I can see many causing accidents. And as for there claims of 130 miles. Maybe this true but I fear it's come at the expense of power as they really didn't want to advertise a car that does 75 miles with good power. Maybe in 3 years time it'll be the second hand market for £5000, making it a tempting commuting vehicle.
I still think that, in a few years there will be better options for £5k. I think the idea of it is great but it’s arrived 3 years late to the party and has turned up with a 4 pack of Skol.
Everything is out of balance with second hand ev car sales atm. With more people opting to lease a new ev, or getting one as a company car. The general cash paying public are still scared of the new tech, battery woes etc., thus you have a glut of ex lease cars coming onto the market and pushing down the prices. Once Joe public see that s/h ev's are not bursting into flames every 5 minutes, or needing new batteries after a year or two, they will then start to buy with more confidence. Then through the process of supply and demand the prices will rise and eventually level off. Now when the price of a 3-4yo ev rises this is where the Spring will start to make more sense to more people. £16k new ev, or 3-4yo ev @ £20k?
I'm glad cheaper EV's are becoming more of a thing, but like you, I would rather buy a nearly new EV that will have more features for the same price or a bit more
Would have to agree, it’s just not going to be capable enough for most people. Enough for a run to the shops and that is about it so why bother unless for some reason 2 cars are required in the family.
Should have spent the money on development of an electric version of the jogger and then bring that in low to middle 20k, a much easier solution to market
Well the Corsa was £25k a year ago. So it's lost £10k in a year. Well the Spring (even the £17k one) won't be down to £7k (lose the same £10k). So overall it won't lose as much in absolute value. Maybe at a year old they will lose about the same percentage value and be down to £10k. As you say they will make great second cars for the school run. I suspect many will be bought by businesses for local driving like estate agents, security firms and the like which are currently using Aygo's and the like. There is probably a bit to be saved on insurance especially if you are young and also spares and tyres will be cheaper. Overall I don't really think the issue is with the Spring but cars in general. If you're a business buy new and a private buyer then secondhand is the way to go.
Difficult one. But I suppose this could be said of any car at the lower end. I’m sure a brand new Corsa will look bad value compared to a used one. Though what it does show is that price is no longer a barrier to buying an EV. Used EV’s are a bargain right now and if you have home charging surely it’s a no brainer.
But we’re talking about kind of half a car vs a full blooded car in this instance. It’s a great bit of PR but I’m not sure the car is all that exciting, even at £15k.
Because EV depreciation in the UK market is so high then it doesn't look like a decent proposition. I think it will do well in the rest of Europe. It's cheap because it's a re-branded Chinese car.
I agree, for me this would be trumped by a second owner car. There are those who will want a new car from the factory. Same argument as for a new or used ice car. Horses for courses. I do have to confess having driven cars such as the Morris Minor with way less power and worse acceleration
Am i right in thinking from the clickbait thumbnail that this is the usual 'let's be a bit controversial' buy suggesting that instead of welcoming an overdue, significantly cheaper EV to market we'll make the point that "Well, a 3 year old Zoe is cheaper!" If so I'm sure it is, but in a few years times a Dacia Spring will be a damn sight cheaper second hand than a Zoe... If the quality is bearable it'll sell like hot cakes.
No. I think it’s a shit solution that’s arrived to market 3 years too late to be relevant. Not clickbait - my opinion. Seems you have a different one, bravo. 🙌 👍
@@DefinitelyNotAGuru lol, well I look forward to the next video showing the other new EVs for £15k that are so much better because choosing a three year old car has always got you ‘more car’ since the first car rolled off the showroom floor. 🤷 Let’s see how many they sell in the first year, it should give an idea of how much of a shit solution the buying public thinking is. 👍
To be honest though, NCAP has become a bit silly of late. Way too much focus on driver assist features and less scoring focus on crash test performance.
Maybe it will appeal to old people who tend to drive very slowly and never really overtake anything just slow everyone else down! Since the original Dacia duster looks I was put off for life lol but older people maybe just look at cost rather than value!
