- Nissan wants its own interpretation of the Renault Twingo and Dacia Spring EVs in Europe.
- Like the Dacia, the new Nissan EV will have a shorter-than-usual development process.
- It will reportedly be revealed in 2026.
Renault’s revived electric Twingo is one of our most hotly anticipated European EVs and it looks like it’s going to have not one but two sister models. After Dacia revealed that it was fast-tracking a project to develop an all-new Spring city EV based on the same underpinnings as the Twingo, Nissan is reportedly doing the same.
AutoExpress reports that, just like Dacia, which said the new Spring would be the result of a quicker-than-usual development process, Nissan is also looking to bring its new EV to production in just 18 months. That’s much quicker than usual for the creation of a new model, and it’s likely a move prompted by tariffs now imposed on Chinese EVs imported into the European Union.
Dacia would likely have happily continued selling the Spring, which was given a major overhaul last year. But since it’s built in China and is now subject to import duties that will bring up its price, the Romanian automaker apparently quickly scrambled to build something similar in Europe instead.
Nissan could have also chosen to make its small EV for Europe in China. It has a joint venture with China’s Dongfeng, which currently builds the Nammi 01 EV that would have been a perfect fit for a bit of badge engineering to turn into a Nissan. But now it seems that Nissan has chosen to link its small EV with the new Twingo and Spring instead.
Unlike the Twingo, which stays true to the original’s hatchback design, retaining many of its now iconic design cues, the Nissan EV will have a more crossover-like stance. This is what Dacia is doing too. We’ve seen the Romanian automaker’s design sketches for the new model and they show an upright two-box vehicle with a mini-SUV aesthetic.
We should see both the Nissan and Dacia EVs revealed before the end of 2026, likely with identical batteries and motors to the Renault Twingo. All three models will likely be built in the same Renault factory in Slovenia. The Renault will be the most expensive with an estimated starting price of around $22,750 (€20,000), while Dacia is targeting $20,500 (€18,000). The Nissan model could fall somewhere in the middle regarding pricing, and it will likely look like a smaller version of the new Leaf.