General

Dacia Spring finally got a generous, but predictable price cut in European countries. Belgium and Luxembourg are first to get it, but other European countries will soon follow. These are the prices of the different variants in Belgium. ESSENTIAL: 10.590 euros EXPRESSION: 12.290 euros EXTREME: 14.290 euros These are the prices of the different variants in Luxembourg. ESSENTIAL: 10.240 euros EXPRESSION: 11.884 euros EXTREME: 13.818 euros These prices already include VAT, and no, there is no government subsidy involved. This means that in Belgium, you can get the fully equipped Dacia Spring EXTREME with the DC charging and front sensors options for 14.940 euros, or 14.446 euros if you get it Luxembourg.

Four years ago I wrote an article praising the Leapmotor T03. Back then the small electric car was only available in China with NCM batteries and it toke almost 7 months until it also got LFP batteries. Now, this great small electric car is finally coming to Europe with a WLTP range of 265 km, a 41,3 kWh (37,3 kWh usable) LFP battery and a price of 18.900 euros. This model arrives disassembled from China to Stellantis factory in Poland where it’s put together like an IKEA furniture.

As expected, the price of EV battery cells continues to fall in China. Let’s take a look to the average price of EV (Electric Vehicle) and ESS (Energy Storage System) battery cells in China. EV battery cells (July 2024) LFP (prismatic): 52 euros per kWh NCM 523 (prismatic): 61 euros per kWh NCM 523 (pouch): 64 euros per kWh ESS battery cells (July 2024) LFP (prismatic): 49 euros per kWh The EV battery cells are optimized for energy and power density, while ESS are mostly about cost, that’s why they are a bit cheaper.

Next year BYD will start to produce its electric cars also outside Asia - in Brazil and Hungary - and legacy carmakers aren’t ready for that. Except one. While tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars imposed by the European Union and the US will give traditional carmakers some time to prepare, they will not stop Chinese carmakers from gaining a substantial market share in the coming years. Carlos Tavares, the CEO of Stellantis, recently said that the company is now ready and welcomes the competition from the Chinese carmakers in the affordable electric car segment.

The ZEEKR 009 electric MPV, part of Geely’s innovative EV lineup, now features CATL’s cutting-edge Qilin battery technology, enabling it to recharge from 10% to 80% in just under 11 minutes. This updated model is set to launch in Hong Kong this Friday. The ZEEKR’s super-fast charging ability is enabled by CATL’s Qilin battery technology, which integrates advanced chemistry, form factor, cooling, and intelligent battery management to improve performance. The next time someone tells you that EVs take hours to refill, you can counter with the ZEEKR 009 and its 11-minute refill capability.

The small BYD Seagull, or as it’s known in South America, BYD Dolphin Mini, debuted with 4 seats, however in Colombia it now gets 5 seats instead. BYD Colombia’s technical documents now show the BYD Dolphin Mini only available with 5 seats. However, we still don’t know if the 4 and 5 seat versions will be sold side-by-side in other markets. Brazil will soon also get this 5 seat version - that has been long awaited by brazilian potential customers.

If you ever had the suspicion that there are BEVs that international automakers sell in China but don’t want to offer to those of us in other markets, well … you were right. China is currently the epicentre of the global EV revolution, representing 60% of the world’s plugin vehicle sales in 2023. It’s also by far the most price-competitive plugin vehicle market, with BEVs, PHEVs, and EREVs (BEVs with a range-extender generator) already competing on price with traditional combustion vehicles across most segments of the auto market.

Stella Li, vice president at BYD just confirmed that the BYD Seagull made for the European market will come next year: Yes, we plan to bring the Seagull to Europe next year. But it’s not the Chinese-market Seagull, it will be a European-market Seagull; a new Seagull. You haven’t seen it yet; even myself, I have not seen it yet. The BYD Seagull is already enjoying great success in South America, particularly in Brazil, where it is called BYD Dolphin Mini and the Chinese manufacturer has already confirmed that a 5-seater version is coming.

In case you haven’t noticed, we can already buy sodium-ion (Na-ion) batteries. For example, with a simple search on AliExpress we can already find sodium-ion battery cells in cylindrical and prismatic formats for consumer use. Depending on the manufacturer, the advertised cycle life varies between 1.500 and 4.000 cycles, while energy density stays between 125 and 140 Wh/kg. However, since the mass production of this battery chemistry is extremely recent, production efficiency (mainly yield rate) and capacity are still low, so you can get much better deals on LFP (LiFePO4) batteries for now…

The Dacia Spring is the by far most affordable battery-electric vehicle on sale in Europe, typically starting under €20,000. It was also Europe’s 9th bestselling battery-electric vehicle (BEV) in 2023, registering almost 60,000 units. Where are the Dacia Spring’s competitors? The legacy auto brands are for the most part refusing to make affordable BEVs, so what’s available in China, and will it come to Europe? Dacia Spring

BYD Blade Battery is currently the best example of a good module-less and cobalt-free battery for electric vehicles. When it was launched, the energy density was at 140 Wh/kg, then slowly increased to 150 Wh/kg. Recently, BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu revealed for the first time at a financial report communication meeting that BYD is currently developing a second-generation blade battery to be released as soon as August 2024. This second generation CTP (cell-to-pack) battery from BYD will reach a gravimetric energy density of 190 Wh/kg, which suggests that at the cell level the density will be around 220 Wh/kg - considering a GCTP (gravimetric cell-to-pack) ratio of 85 %.

The new 2024 Dacia Spring is not perfect, but given its price is actually quite good. With a starting price of 16.900 euros, it’s the cheapest electric car you can buy in Europe. This small electric car comes in three variants. Essential (33 kW): 16.900 euros Expression (48 kW): 18.900 euros Extreme (48 kW): 19.900 euros 2024 Dacia Spring Basic specs Seats: 4 Length: 3.701 mm Width: 1.767 mm Height: 1.519 mm Wheelbase: 2.423 mm Turning circle: 4.800 mm Trunk capacity: 308 L - 1.004 L with the rear seats folded down Frunk capacity: 35 L Weight: 984 kg Wheels: 15-inch Starting price: 16.900 euros Powertrain Electric motor: 33 or 48 kW Maximum speed: 125 km/h Range (WLTP): 220 km (137 miles) Battery capacity: 26,8 kWh Battery weight: 186 kg Battery chemistry: NCM DC fast charging: 30 kW - from 20 to 80 % in 45 minutes (600 euros option) On-board charging: 7 kW - from 0 to 100 % in 4 hours Consumption: 14,6 kWh/100 km What’s most impressive is that it comes packed with advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) to meet the latest European Global Safety Regulation 2 (GSR2) safety standards.