The Dacia Spring Cargo is a new van version of one of the UK’s cheapest electric cars – which instantly makes it the cheapest electric van you can buy here. As a car-derived van, it offers legally faster speeds on dual carriageways and B-roads, making it potentially ideal for compact local delivery needs as well as travelling engineers.
Based on the Dacia Spring, which is one of the UK’s smallest cars, it’s not going to be the most practical option. But it’s certainly got greater carrying capacity – and driving range – than electric quadricycles such as the Citroen Ami Cargo and Mobilze Bento.
What’s the load space and payload of the Dacia Spring Cargo?
Starting life as a passenger car, the Spring Cargo has five doors but only two seats – the rear bench being removed as part of the light commercial vehicle conversion.
This results in a load area of 1,085 litres – or just over 1.0 cubic metre. There’s a mesh bulkhead to give passengers some protection, and the load space can be accessed by the rear side doors as well as the tailgate.
As is typical of car-derived vans, payload is very limited, with the Spring Cargo rated to carry just 370kg. That may well be enough in a vehicle that is just 3.7m long, however.
What’s the performance of the Dacia Spring Cargo?
You may be able to travel as fast as a car, but you’ll take your sweet time getting there. The Spring Cargo is power by a modest 65hp electric motor, and won’t be very quick when loaded. The passenger version feels nippy enough around town, but starts to get a bit breathless on the open road.
You’ll need to allow plenty of time for charging. For despite having a tiny 26.8kWh battery, it still needs 45 minutes to charge from 20% to 80%. Combined WLTP driving range is 140 miles, and likely quite a bit less when fully loaded.
So, again, local delivery seems the most suitable use.
Dacia Spring Cargo cost and specification
While this diddy Dacia van might seem rather limiting due to all of the above, it does represent an extremely cost-effective way for businesses to go zero emissions where the use-case for such an electric vehicle makes sense.
The Dacia Spring Cargo is priced at just £14,995 (excluding VAT), and can be discounted by a £2,500 by the UK government Plug-in Van Grant – which has just been extended into the 2025/2026 financial year by the 2024 Autumn Budget.
As a result, a business lease is available at just £149 per month. If you’re a florist, a valeting or detailing business, or perhaps even a short-range parcel courier, it could make a lot of sense. There are electric van tax advantages, too.
The Spring Cargo comes in a single specification, painted Polar White and including a 10.0-inch infotainment system with satnav, smartphone mirroring, Bluetooth, USB connection and a reversing camera. You also get manual air-conditioning, remote locking, electric front windows, front and rear parking sensors and a vehicle-to-load adaptor.
This last allows you to power 240v devices from the drive battery, potentially turning the Spring Cargo into a mobile workshop. Rather cool.
