We’ve been following the impending introduction of the Dacia Spring with interest. Partly because the manufacturer’s canny, value-based approach appeals to right-thinking PHers generally, and partly because the arrival of cheap-to-buy electric cars is now considered essential to kickstarting the increasingly moribund European EV market. The latter concept isn’t exactly rocket science: plenty of normal people are interested in making the switch to battery power, they’re just not interested in paying a small fortune to do so. Moreover, small and very affordable models are typically aimed at city driving where (shock) electric cars actually work best.
Accordingly, while it might seem like Dacia has again seized on something that no one else is doing (or doing very well), the potential size of the market means that a number of other firms are lining up to snap at its heels. One of them is Hyundai, a firm that knows a thing or two about turning formerly uninspiring product into sales gold. The new Inster, seen here ahead of its official reveal at the Busan International Mobility Show later this month and confirmed for Europe, bears all the hallmarks of a Korean sleeper hit: it’s an ‘evolution’ of a petrol-powered model sold exclusively in Korea; it exceeds the Dacia’s range by a significant margin; it has a silly and immediately memorable name; it will not be expensive.
Quite how inexpensive it will be is, for now, a matter of conjecture. Merely by being a sub-compact we know that Hyundai is targeting a low starting price, but there’s almost zero chance it will seek to undercut the £15k cost of the cheapest Spring. Instead, the firm will rely on the strength of its brand and the 220 miles of range it says it is aiming for. Indeed, Hyundai insists that the Inster ‘will set new standards in terms of driving range, technology, and safety features, redefining what buyers can expect from a vehicle in this class’. Which is the manufacturer’s long-established game plan in a nutshell.
As, it seems, are the new styling choices. Obviously, we can expect the car’s basic shape to mirror the Casper (yes, seriously) on which it is based - but the downsized SUV profile has been given a spruce ‘with signature LED daytime running lights, plus pixel-graphic turn signals and tail lamps that define the new sub-compact EV’s design.’ We’ll bet it’s got more power than the entry-level 45hp Spring, too, and a slightly showier interior. But the underlying strategy will be very similar: convincing anyone with a runaround that the time has come to trade it in for a shiny new EV. Expect it to get harder and harder to resist the temptation.
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