Dacia, a sub-brand of the French automaker Renault, is asking the European Union for a temporary pause in certain regulations to help launch an electric car priced under 10,000 euros. The goal is to make affordable electric vehicles more accessible to consumers, particularly in Europe, where the cost of compliance with regulations has been rising. According to Katrin Adt, head of Dacia, current European standards are making it difficult to produce small, budget-friendly electric cars, as they add complexity and cost to the manufacturing process. Adt explained that the European Union has imposed 107 new requirements on city cars, which could further complicate the production of affordable electric vehicles. These regulations cover various aspects of vehicle safety, emissions, and performance, and Dacia is already spending a quarter of its research and development budget and 25% of its engineers on meeting these compliance needs. The brand has already adapted to a hundred existing directives and must now incorporate these new ones by 2030. Adt questioned whether these regulations are in line with what customers actually want. She pointed out that one of the most requested features in cars is the "magic button," a feature that allows drivers to disable sound alerts mandated by European authorities. This highlights a growing gap between regulatory requirements and consumer preferences, as many drivers find these alerts unnecessary or annoying. Dacia and other car manufacturers are calling for a temporary halt on new regulations specifically for small city cars. Fabrice Cambolive, general director of Renault, described the current regulatory environment as a "tsunami of regulations coming from Europe." He suggested that a ten-year pause would allow the industry to focus on making electric vehicles more financially accessible and advancing electrification efforts. This would be crucial for projects like the Dacia Hipster, a proposed ultra-economic micro city car designed for affordability and efficiency.