Dacia Hipster Concept: The Electric Car That Wants to Belong to the People — and Cuts Costs in All the Right Places
Dacia has unveiled the Hipster Concept, an electric car that defies the auto industry’s swelling ego and promises a people’s EV without the burden of luxury, excess weight, or design vanity. Three meters long, four seats, and a 500-liter boot — the Hipster is Dacia’s way of saying not every electric car needs to weigh two tons or cost as much as an apartment.
While the rest of the automotive world races to see whose battery is bigger or whose LED strip glows longer, Dacia takes a deliberate step back. The Hipster Concept is electric minimalism at its most unapologetic — 100 percent electric, yet 20 percent lighter than the Dacia Spring, and just three meters long. It’s a car that proves good engineering doesn’t have to start with opulence.
This is Dacia’s vision of the people’s car 2.0 — not a smartphone on wheels, but a practical tool for those who actually drive rather than post about it.
The front end is clean and horizontal, with narrow, functional headlights that reinforce its ascetic stance. The tailgate splits in two and spans the full width of the car, while the taillights sit behind the glass to save on the cost of an extra panel.
Only three body panels are painted. The bumpers and cladding are made of Dacia’s own Starkle® plastic — a recycled and recyclable material whose speckled surface has become a badge of eco-conscious authenticity. Instead of door handles, there are fabric pull-straps — cheaper, lighter, and disarmingly honest.
Despite its modest footprint, the Hipster hides a surprisingly spacious interior. Four full-sized seats and a boot that can expand from 70 to 500 liters make it genuinely usable. The roof includes a glass section, and the side windows slide manually because electric ones are, as Dacia puts it, “an overrated luxury.”
The front seats form a single bench — a nostalgic nod to the people’s cars of the past, when closeness wasn’t an optional extra. Materials are light and technical, with exposed metal frames and unpretentious finishes. The Hipster wears its simplicity with pride.
Inside, there are 11 YouClip® anchor points for attaching a phone holder, cup, pocket, or even a portable Bluetooth speaker. There’s no built-in infotainment screen — your smartphone serves as both the key and the sound system.
Designed for urban and suburban life, the Hipster needs charging only twice a week. Dacia notes that 94 percent of Europeans drive less than 40 kilometers per day — and the Hipster doesn’t pretend that life is anything more than that.
It’s a humble manifesto on wheels: proof that in the age of over-engineered excess, common sense can still look cool.
