Dacia Spring's sales slump drags down Renault Group EV volumes

PARIS – Renault Group’s sales of full-electric models fell by 17 percent in the first half of the year, largely due to the loss of incentives in France for the Dacia Spring minicar.

Renault Group sold 61,013 EVs in the first half, compared with 73,381 in the same period in 2023. Sales of the Spring fell by 60 percent to 11,130 – a loss of nearly 16,000 units. 

Sales of the group’s two other main EVs, the Renault Twingo minicar and the Renault Megane E-Tech compact, were mixed, with the Twingo up 49 percent to 11,581, and the Megane E-Tech down 13 percent to 19,969. 

Renault got a small boost in the second quarter from the new Scenic compact SUV, which recorded 4,692 sales. 

The group's overall sales in Europe were up 6.7 percent.

Sales of electric light-commercial vehicles -- largely vans -- also helped limit losses, increasing 30 percent to 9,119.

Renault’s EV sales were in contrast to the European market as a whole, with EV sales up 1.6 percent, according to figures from the lobbying group ACEA.

The Spring, which is imported from China, lost a €4,000 incentive in France because of a new calculation that takes total carbon footprint into account, including high-emissions activities such as shipping. The incentive had brought the price down to under €15,000; the current price in France is about €18,000. The Spring is also facing additional EU tariffs on Chinese-built EVs.

Renault’s EV fortunes may turn around in the second half, when it launches the Renault 5 small car, which is expected to start at just under €25,000. Other key EV launches in the coming years include the Renault 4 small SUV in 2025 and the next-generation Twingo in 2026, which is expected to start at less than €20,000.