Spring's £154 monthly cost shifts entry-level EV maths for salary sacrifice

Dacia's Spring is now the cheapest new EV on sale in the UK, and for salary sacrifice schemes that changes the maths on entry-level fleet EV offers. RRP starts at £11,990, already under the £12,000 mark, and it undercuts anything else on a salary sacrifice list. Run through a scheme, it works out at roughly £154 a month for a higher-rate taxpayer, according to the same source.

The catch is range and status. Per that analysis, the Expression trim manages a 70bhp motor and 140-mile WLTP range from a 24.3kWh battery, with the punchier Extreme trim hitting 100bhp and a 9.6-second 0-62mph. Rapid charging tops up 20-80% in 29 minutes, boot space is a modest 308 litres, and Benefit-in-Kind sits at just 4% for 2026/27. But because the Spring is built in China, it doesn't qualify for the government's Electric Car Grant, a gap buyers of European-built rivals won't face. THRIVE's company car BiK rates table sets out the appropriate percentages year by year.

Why this matters: For fleets weighing up low-mileage urban or pool-car use, the Spring's tax position and price point are hard to beat, but the missing grant and sub-150-mile real-world range mean it suits short, predictable journeys rather than general-purpose duty. Check driver use patterns before adding it to scheme lists.