Consumer Tech

11,990 Pounds Now Buys a New Electric Car, and No Grant Paid for It

Within 48 hours Leapmotor cut the T03 to 12,995 pounds and Dacia dropped the Spring to 11,990 pounds. Neither qualifies for the state grant, so both makers fund the discount themselves. What that tells owners about the affordable EV floor.

Consumer TechBy Servola Tech Desk2026-07-054 min read

AI-assisted, edited by humans. | Editor-in-Chief: Leon Soliman | Editorial standards

11,990 Pounds Now Buys a New Electric Car, and No Grant Paid for It

Key takeaways

Two China-built EVs, the Dacia Spring at 11,990 pounds and the Leapmotor T03 at 12,995 pounds, now sit below the petrol Dacia Sandero at 14,765 pounds, and both makers are absorbing the discount because neither car qualifies for the UK Electric Car Grant.
The UK Electric Car Grant is worth up to 3,750 pounds but its carbon-intensity scoring excludes cars assembled in China, so Chinese-owned brands are self-funding matching cuts rather than pricing to the grant line.
Leapmotor doubled its own LEAP-GRANT from 1,500 to 3,000 pounds on 1 July; Dacia answered the next day with a 4,000 pound cut, showing the affordable EV floor is now set by manufacturer subsidy, not by battery cost.
For a fleet or family buyer, the sub-12,000 pound sticker is a promotional price funded by the maker, not a durable list price, so the buying window and the residual-value assumption both need checking before signing.
Both cars use LFP batteries and short city-range figures (Spring up to 140 miles WLTP, T03 up to 165 miles), so the discount buys access, not touring capability.

What happened in 48 hours

On 30 June, Stellantis-owned Leapmotor doubled its self-funded LEAP-GRANT on the T03 city car from 1,500 to 3,000 pounds, effective 1 July, taking the on-the-road price to 12,995 pounds and claiming the title of the UK's most affordable new car of any fuel type. Leapmotor UK managing director Damien Dally framed it as making the T03 "not just the most affordable new EV in the UK, but the most affordable new car full stop." The brand also passed 10,000 UK registrations.

The claim lasted about a day. On 1 July, Dacia cut the Spring by 4,000 pounds, dropping the entry Expression Electric 70 to 11,990 pounds and the Extreme Electric 100 to 12,990 pounds. Dacia UK brand director Lina Ribeiro said the move "takes our purpose further than ever" and called the Spring "the most affordable new car on the market, electric or otherwise." Two Chinese-built EVs had, within two days, undercut the petrol Dacia Sandero, which starts at 14,765 pounds.

The grant these cars cannot have

The context that the launch copy leaves out is the UK Electric Car Grant. The 650 million pound scheme offers up to 3,750 pounds off eligible EVs priced at 37,000 pounds or less, but it scores manufacturers on embodied carbon and assembly-emissions intensity. Cars assembled in China score poorly on that grid-carbon test, and the transport minister has said no China-assembled car is expected to qualify. The Leapmotor T03 and the Dacia Spring are both built in China.

So the discounts are not the state's money. They are manufacturer money, deployed to match or exceed a grant the cars are structurally locked out of. Leapmotor named its scheme LEAP-GRANT and pegged it to the government figure on purpose; Dacia's cut lands in the same 3,750 pound neighbourhood. The policy meant to steer buyers toward lower-carbon supply chains is, at the bottom of the market, being neutralised by the excluded brands paying the difference out of margin.

Why the floor moved, and how far it holds

The obvious reading is a Chinese-brand price war, and that is part of it. The sharper reading is about who now sets the affordable-EV floor. For years the entry price of a new EV tracked battery cost, and the battery was the reason an EV cost more than a comparable petrol car. These two cuts break that link: the number on the windscreen is now a marketing decision, funded by the maker to buy volume and registrations, sitting below the petrol equivalent from the same showroom.

That floor is not guaranteed to hold. A grant matched from margin can be withdrawn the moment volume targets are met or exchange rates or tariffs move, and the wider European context is one of legacy-maker cost pressure and Chinese cost advantage, not of comfortable margins all round. The sub-12,000 pound EV is real today; whether it is real in six months depends on how long each brand judges the land-grab worth funding.

What owners and buyers should take from it

For a private buyer or a small fleet, the practical move is to separate the promotion from the product. At 11,990 to 12,995 pounds these are genuinely cheap, genuinely new EVs with usable city range, warranty, and modern equipment, and for a second car or an urban runabout the maths is strong. But treat the price as a dated offer, not a list price: confirm how long the contribution runs, whether it survives to your delivery date, and what the same car is expected to list at once the anniversary or launch window closes.

The residual-value question matters more than usual. When the entry price is held down by a manufacturer subsidy rather than by cost, used values key off a list price the market never really paid, and a car bought cheap on promotion can depreciate against a higher notional figure. That is a reason to buy for use, not for resale, and to read the sub-12,000 pound headline as a signal about where the affordable-EV floor is being set rather than as a fixed feature of the car.

Frequently asked questions

Why do these EVs not get the UK Electric Car Grant?

The grant scores manufacturers on embodied carbon and assembly emissions, and cars assembled in China score poorly on grid-carbon intensity. The transport minister has indicated no China-assembled car is expected to qualify. Both the Leapmotor T03 and the Dacia Spring are built in China, so their discounts come from the makers themselves, not the 650 million pound state scheme.

Is 11,990 pounds a permanent price for the Dacia Spring?

It is a real on-the-road price now, but it reflects a 4,000 pound cut that the maker is funding rather than a change in build cost. Manufacturer-funded contributions can be time-limited or tied to volume targets. Before buying, confirm the offer's end date and what the car is expected to list at afterward.

How much range do these cars actually offer?

They are city cars, not long-distance EVs. The Dacia Spring quotes up to 140 miles WLTP from a 24.3 kWh LFP battery, and the Leapmotor T03 up to 165 miles WLTP. Real-world figures fall below WLTP, so the low price buys urban and commuter use, not touring.

Does this signal a wider EV price war in Europe?

It signals one at the bottom of the UK market, where Chinese-owned brands excluded from the grant are competing on self-funded discounts. Whether it spreads depends on how long each maker funds the cuts and how legacy European makers, already under cost pressure, choose to respond.

The cheapest new car in Britain is now electric, and the state grant did not buy it down. Two makers locked out of that grant chose to pay the difference themselves to win the entry buyer. Read the sub-12,000 pound sticker for what it is: a dated, margin-funded offer that marks where the affordable-EV floor is being set today, not a fixed price you can bank on tomorrow.

LeapmotorDaciaElectric Car GrantStellantisRenaultElectric Vehicles

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