We have already written about this several times.
In recent years, Dacia has undergone profound changes, creating a new image for itself without betraying the “best value for money” that has made it so successful.
The use of the Renault Group’s most advanced technology has helped to raise the technical level of Dacia cars. h
However, at the interesting Product Day 2025 held in Paris at the end of September, it emerged that the Romanian manufacturer is pursuing its own technical and stylistic path, definitively placing itself on a par with the other members of the Alliance.
A strong signal of this new positioning comes from the Concept Hipster, the most radical of the new models presented in Paris.
We are pleased to report that Dacia’s new proposal is moving in the direction that Auto Tecnica has been advocating for years.
It is positive that in recent months Ursula von der Leyen has spoken about an “European car” as a support to the sector.
This position will certainly encourage an alignment among car manufacturers.
Following the users’ needs
The Dacia Hipster Concept was born primarily from an analysis of the real needs of users, the now chronic difficulties of traffic and parking in large cities, and last but not least, from compliance with low emission criteria in the vehicle’s life cycle.
This is a priority, especially for Europe (and not only for motor vehicles), where energy is expensive and is largely purchased outside the borders of the Union.
Obviously, we cannot and must not deny the long tradition of the European car industry, with its most prestigious historic brands continuing to produce the dream cars that have made them famous worldwide.
But reinventing the popular car, accessible to all, has become an obligation that can no longer be postponed.
Lower mass, smaller and less expensive cars
When designing the Dacia Hipster Concept, great attention was paid to weight, with the goal of making it 20% lighter than the Spring.
Less weight means using less raw materials and less energy for production. b
But also less mass to accelerate, a transitional phase that we know to be the most energy-intensive, on a par with braking, which, however, with energy recovery for battery recharging, resolves the dispersion in heat (and fine particle emissions) of all the kinetic energy accumulated by the vehicle.
The Dacia Hipster Concept also aims to reduce the carbon footprint over the entire life cycle of the vehicle compared to the best electric models available today.
A real car for real customers
The Dacia Hipster Concept is not just a small city car, but with four seats and a real boot, it can also be used for short trips.
An analysis of real mobility needs is enlightening: in Europe, the average speed of travel is 56 km/h; on average, each car carries 1.6 people; the distance travelled daily is less than 40 km.
Obviously, averages should always be taken with care, but many of us has experienced that these figures are somewhat accurate.
And then there is the price. Cars today are too expensive.
In fact, “small” cars are proportionally, more expensive than “large” ones.
This, together with uncertainty about the technological future of traction and a general recession, has led to a collapse of the sales.
It is clear to everyone that the average price of new cars has increased exponentially. According to Dacia, between 2010 and 2024, it has grown by 77% in Europe, much more than the purchasing power of households.
If Dacia has made electric mobility accessible with the Spring, with the Hipster Concept, it wants to do even better, creating (or rather re-creating) a true “people’s car”.
Few words with the designer
That a paradigm shift is underway is evident from the words of David Durant, Director of exterior design at Dacia. Here is our short interview.
David, first of all, congratulations on this work. Very interesting. How did the idea come about?
The brief was very simple and started from the consideration that the selling price of cars has risen dramatically over the last ten years, without a proportional increase in wages.
This has meant that millions of people have been unable to buy a new car that suits their needs and budget.
So, a radical change is needed.
Of course. People still need cars, both those who live in large cities, despite having access to more or less efficient public transport, and especially those who live in the suburbs and surrounding areas and have to travel into the city for work.
Think, for example, of those who work in hospitals or services when public transport is not running.
We have thought about these people and reasoned that the only way to make a car more accessible is to make it as compact as possible, but with four real seats and a boot, and lighter, to reduce the cost of the materials used and the energy required to produce it.
We must bear in mind that a third of the cost of an electric car is in the battery.
Reducing the mass means fitting a smaller, lighter battery and, ultimately, keeping the selling price lower.
What were the criteria that inspired the design of the Dacia Hipster Concept?
We simply designed the car around four seats, trying to keep it under three meters in length.
Clearly, the challenge was to make the shape acceptable and attractive from a design point of view.
We couldn’t just make a simple plastic box; the public would never have accepted it.
Nor could we neglect minimum safety criteria.
This led us to define a parallelepiped shape, which is the only one that allows us to maximise the interior with minimum external dimensions and promotes an elevated driving position, which we know is very popular with users because of the sense of safety and control it conveys.
Once the design was sketched out, we went into the details of each part of the vehicle to find the best solution at the lowest cost, such as door handles, sliding windows, a simplified dashboard and much more, without neglecting ergonomics and what can make life on board more enjoyable.
We also looked to the past: the Renault 4, Fiat Panda and Mini were simple, popular, economical cars that earned a reputation as small “supercars” that their owners could be proud of.
This shows that it is possible to build simple, compact cars with good design without necessarily having to scale down larger cars.
So not big cars scaled down…
Exactly. Form and function dedicated to the intended use of the vehicle, without emulating luxury cars on a smaller scale, but expressing a strong personality.
Another source of inspiration was Japanese Kei-cars, which form a category of their own with a design focused more on the product than on style.
This is where our great attention to the interior comes from, starting with the seats, inspired by office chairs, made to be used all day long.
We also considered solutions other than the classic metal monocoque for the structure, starting with steel tube elements integrated with composite plastic panelling.
It will also be a surprise from a process point of view, as a dedicated assembly line will have to be designed for its production.
When will we see Dacia Hipster Concept on the road?
Good question. We developed this concept with the intention, of course, of following it up with a production car, and we have worked on various scenarios to achieve this.
The key factor lies in the current regulations.
The car could be an L7, but this implies a max weight of 450 kg without the battery, not very compatible with these dimensions.
If we move to the M1 category, i.e. “normal” cars, regulations would require us to install a series of ADAS and safety and electronic devices that would complicate the vehicle, make it heavier and undermine the assumptions we mentioned.
In essence, they would take it out of the “target price” we have set ourselves.
That is why we are very curious to see what Ursula von der Leyen’s EU will do, as she announced a few weeks ago that the Commission is working on specific regulations for a European vehicle.
At Dacia, we are ready to develop the project in accordance with these new regulations.
The Hipster Concept was created to be easily adapted to multiple solutions. If it comes to fruition, Dacia wants to be ready to enter this new segment.
How do you think this new hypothetical “European car” will be positioned?
I think it will be halfway between L7 and M1; we don’t expect great performance, 80-90 km/h is enough for commuting.
It won’t be a car for going on holiday but an everyday companion.
Low performance means adequate safety systems that won’t raise the final selling price too much.
We believe that a max weight of 700-800 kg is what is needed in the car to make it similar to a traditional car, setting it apart from a quadricycle.
A range of 150 km would be sufficient to use the vehicle for about a weeks between charges.
We also envisage a 220V charging system that can be used with domestic sockets, with charging times of a few hours, typically overnight.
Fast charging systems are another expensive element that should be avoided.
I see that you have used flat glass everywhere. Is this also to reduce costs?
Not exactly.
Consider that glass suppliers today are not equipped to produce flat glass in large quantities, as the norm is to use curved glazing.
No, the aim is not to reduce costs but to follow the cubic shape of the volumes, which, as mentioned, optimise space.
We can say, to quote an old slogan, that the Hipster Concept is bigger on the inside than on the outside!
