Plus, Renault has confirmed its own retro-styled 5 concept – of which a production version will be arriving next year – will take its chunky 16in alloy wheels into production, suggesting capacity for the CMF-BEV platform to accommodate the large-diameter off-road wheels and tyres that are a crucial factor in the Duster retaining its workhorse-style appeal in its new generation.
However, the CMF-BEV platform is front driven and not for now compatible with twin-motor, four-wheel-drive powertrains, unlike the larger CMF-EV structure, which will house a second motor at the rear in Alpine’s forthcoming electric crossover.
Ferry highlighted the European launch of Dacia’s new Spring Electric – one of the region’s cheapest mainstream EVs, at the equivalent of £10,500 – as a sign that the company intends to maintain affordability as it switches to electrification.
“Even if [EVs] have been too expensive, you can see that the Spring is quite low for an electric vehicle,” he said
The brand will also expand its product offering at the upper end with the introduction of its largest model yet, the ruggedly styled C-segment Dacia Bigster SUV, which is set to launch by 2025 as a rival both to the Nissan Qashqai and the Volkswagen Tiguan. It too will use the CMF-B platform in its combustion-engined and hybrid forms, with potential for an electric variant using the EV-powertrain-capable version of those underpinnings.