Dacia is a Romanian car company that specializes in producing remarkably affordable new cars. It’s now owned by Renault, and modern Dacias are built on Renault platforms, modified to sell for lower prices. This week Dacia unveiled its darling Hipster concept car, a diminutive electric four-seater that aims to reinvent the people’s car by remaining remarkably lightweight to maximize efficiency and minimize environmental impact. It’s not a low-speed city EV like a Citroën Ami, though, instead more like an electric kei car or Smart ForTwo competitor.
At 9.84 feet long the Hipster is about three feet shorter than a 2025 Mini Cooper two-door, yet Dacia claims it can comfortably fit four full-sized adults. Dacia made certain to keep the Hipster’s weight down since less weight means less raw materials, less energy used in manufacturing, and less mass to move — it weighs well under a ton at just 1,764 pounds. The company’s ambition is to halve the carbon footprint over the entire life cycle of the vehicle compared to current EVs. Details about the Hipster’s battery capacity are not provided but expect both the battery and range to be quite small, which helps minimize energy consumption.
It ain’t fancy, but it is brilliant and looks great
Dacia’s head of advanced design and exterior design Romain Gauvin said the design of the Hipster is meant to be distinctive and memorable, as the most successful popular cars have been distinguished by innovative design. Simplicity is a primary pillar of the Hipster’s design, too, as it is designed with a single body color, there are only three painted exterior parts, and the exterior door handles are replaced by straps. The taillight design is innovative too, with stacked light pods mounted behind the rear tailgate glass, so they remain in place when the trunk is opened and do not require their own glass panel.
Inside, the seats are made of a technical mesh fabric, and the front seats are arranged as a bench seat to optimize weight and simplicity. Dacia says the front seating positions are identical to the Dacia Sandero compact hatchback that’s currently selling like hotcakes in Europe, and has been for years.
Cost-cutting without eliminating personality
In a move that’s somewhat similar to the Ford Maverick’s 3D printable accessories, the Hipster has 11 anchor points along the dash, door panels, and trunk area for a range of YouClip accessories like cupholders, arm rests, and ceiling lights developed by Dacia. The third-generation Dacia Duster introduced the YouClip system. The Hipster adheres to Dacia’s “Bring Your Own Device” philosophy, which lets owners use their smartphone as a key to unlock and start the car, then the phone is used as an infotainment screen when mounted to the dash.
All this cost cutting should result in an affordable price tag for the Hipster, though Dacia hasn’t announced any prices or expected arrival dates for a production version of this concept. If any company can bring an ultra-cheap car to market, it’s Dacia, as its cars are significantly cheaper than competitors, and buyers are eating them up. The Sandero is the best-selling car in Europe this year, but maybe the precious little Hipster will replace it at the top of the sales charts soon.
Dacia
