Dacia Spring wins the Green Euro-NCAP: Small yet green

The electric small car Dacia Spring has won overall first place in the 2022 Green NCAP evaluation, which is awarded to vehicles with the lowest environmental impact. It sets a new standard for automotive sustainability with five stars and an overall score of 9.9. It was ahead of the Tesla Model 3 (overall score of 9.8). The NIO eT7, Renault Megane E-Tech, and Cupra Born each achieved an overall score of 9.6. The Audi Q4 e-Tron and Hyundai IONIQ 5 were also rated with five stars. However, all competitors did not come as low in energy consumption as the Spring, according to the organization. For example, the IONIQ 5 received a 9.1 in the energy efficiency index, which lowered the vehicle's overall score. For comparison, the best combustion vehicles do not even come close to half as good ratings as electric vehicles. Recently, the organization released its latest results on three gasoline vehicles: the Kia Picanto (3 stars), the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer (2½ stars), and the VW Touran (2 stars), as well as the diesel vehicle Opel/Vauxhall Mokka (3 stars).

"With this outstanding result, Dacia's small car sets a standard for the industry. Dacia's goal was to develop a small car that addresses consumer needs while also tackling the challenges of sustainability on our planet in its design. The result is a 'green and environmentally friendly' vehicle. With this model, the company is ahead of many other manufacturers in terms of environmental impact," explained Dr. Aleksandar Damyanov, the technical leader of Green NCAP.

More safety desirable

The parent organization of Green NCAP, Euro NCAP, which evaluates vehicles based on their safety performance, would wish for the company to show the same long-term commitment to safety. Then the results could be even more outstanding and offer consumers an ideal purchase decision that provides both sustainability and safety, added Dr. Aled Williams, the program director of Euro NCAP.

Lightweight as a foundation

According to the manufacturer, the relatively inexpensive five-door car, with an empty weight of under one ton as the only fully-fledged electric four-seater, fulfills the desire for lightweight and agile city vehicles. The battery size is also optimally tailored to the requirements of urban and near-urban traffic, allowing for fast charging times while still offering a practical range of 305 kilometers in the WLTP-City mode with a battery capacity of 26.8 kWh.

The compact BEV has now achieved the top rating of five stars with an overall score of 9.9. The city electric vehicle not only achieved excellent 10.0 results in the clean-air and greenhouse-gas indexes but also a previously unreached top score of 9.8 in the energy-efficiency index. Primarily, the compactly designed electric drivetrain and the low empty weight contribute to the excellent overall result. The charging efficiency was also convincing, with 89 percent of the energy taken from the power grid available after the battery charging process according to the Green NCAP test. The test results showed that the Spring is an environmentally friendly car, not only due to the lack of local pollutant emissions but also due to its low energy consumption.

Compact, light, agile - points for the green balance

Thanks to the 305-kilometer range in WLTP-City mode, the Spring is seen as the ideal solution primarily in classic commuter operations. The average daily driving distance for Dacia Spring drivers is 31 kilometers at an average speed of 26 km/h, according to the manufacturer. The concept is confirmed by high demand: Since its market launch in 2021, the Spring has recorded over 100,000 orders worldwide. In the European private market, the Spring is among the top-3 electric models across all segments. In Germany, there are currently 18,000 Spring registrations. The share of the city electric in the electric market was 3.1 percent in 2022, ranking the Spring eighth among all electric vehicles.