Cheapest electric cars 2025
For some time, electric cars have generally been more expensive to buy than petrol and diesel counterparts. Things have changed dramatically in the last few years, though, with all sorts of cheap electric cars flooding the market.
Some of these electric cars are built from the ground up with battery power in mind, while others, like the Citroen e-C3, are alternatively available with hybrid petrol engines. What's interesting in the case of the latter is that the gap between the petrol and electric versions is very narrow, although the EVs do tend to be the more expensive options.
That said, the reintroduction of electric car grants in the UK means that in many cases, the EV option is going to be cheaper. On that front, all of the cars we're talking about here fall way under the £37,000 limit for the scheme, but only those deemed to have a low enough carbon footprint in their construction will be eligible for the full £3750 off. A lesser discount of £1500 is also available.
The application process for the manufacturers is thought to be quite lengthy, so in the interim, many brands are offering their own 'grants', in some cases matching that full £3750. It's a rapidly changing situation, so we've based the order of this list of the cheapest electric cars on RRP, and urge you to shop around for the best deal before choosing any car.
Cheapest electric cars
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Citroen Ami
Here’s the headline: the Citroen Ami is the cheapest new car on sale in the UK. Well, sort of. If you want to get technical, it’s not actually a car; it’s a quadricycle, which means it can be driven without a full licence by someone as young as 16.
But with prices starting at just £7695 on the road, it’s exceedingly affordable electric transport. As a quadricycle, the Ami doesn’t have to pass the same safety tests as a car, but it’s not designed for high-speed motorway driving. In fact, with a top speed of only 28mph, we wouldn’t recommend using it for anything other than around-town work. Its battery will give you a range of up to 46 miles, which should be more than enough for urban fun.
And fun is the operative word with this little two-seater. Not only is it enjoyable to zoom about town in, it’s also one of the quirkiest looking cars on sale, especially if you go for the new Ami Buggy. Downsides? Well, other than it not being actually a car, you can only charge it via a domestic socket rather than a fast charger. And if you want to go out of town, you’ll need something more robust.
Read our Citroen Ami review
Dacia Spring - £14,995
And here it is, the cheapest electric car in the UK which is...actually a car. At £14,995, the Dacia Spring drastically undercuts most of the options on this list, but unfortunately, to achieve that rock-bottom price, some compromises have been made. First off, for that price, you're only getting a paltry 45PS to play with. If you want the 65PS version, it's an extra £1000 and another grand on top of that for the better-equipped Extreme trim level.
A bigger issue than the lack of power is the car the Dacia Spring is based on – a 10-year-old Renault which was originally designed for emerging markets. This is painfully obvious in the Dacia Spring's quality and the way it drives. The handling is iffy and the refinement is poor.
Even at £15,000, the Dacia Spring is a bit of a hard sell. But the thing is, you don't need to spend anywhere near that, as there are some staggeringly good pre-reg deals doing the rounds. We've seen as much as £6000 off, at which point the Dacia Spring starts to make a bit more sense. It should be very cheap to lease, as well.
Read our Dacia Spring review
Leapmotor T03 - £
It's only slightly more expensive than the cheapest Dacia Spring, but the Leapmotor T03 is a much more convincing low-cost EV effort. The cabin quality is significantly higher, and with 95PS available from its motor, it's a rocket ship in comparison to the Dacia. It will also travel up to 165 miles on a full charge, which is 25 more than the Spring manages.
Again, though, there are compromises. The handling is best described as 'basic', and there are some glaring spec omissions, including a lack of Apple CarPlay or Android Auto connectivity. You don't even get DAB radio, and we can't remember the last time we tested a car without that.
Read our Leapmotor T03 review
BYD Dolphin Surf - £18,650
If you can get past the daft and frankly confusing name (this is a mostly unrelated car to the larger BYD Dolphin and has nothing to do with gnarly water sports), the BYD Dolphin Surf has a lot going for it. At £18,650 the entry-level version isn't drastically more expensive than the Dacia Spring and Leapmotor T03, yet the difference between those two and the BYD is pretty big.
The interior quality feels like an improvement not just on those two but also the more expensive Fiat Grande Panda (more on that soon). There's also a decent amount of boot space, although it is quite a narrow car, which means it's only been possible to squeeze four seats in rather than five.
The only problem is, the entry-level car is pretty sluggish. Its 88PS output might have been fine if the BYD Dolphin Surf actually picked up quickly when you put your foot down, but there's a weird delay before it finally gets a move on. A pokier motor is only available with a larger battery (which increases the range to 199 miles), resulting in something costing £23,950.
Read our BYD Dolphin Surf review
Fiat Grande Panda Electric - £21,035
Costing £21,035 but packing in much more of a sense of fun than any car on this list, the Fiat Grande Panda Electric proves that cheap can indeed also mean cheerful.
While sharing a lot in common with the Citroen e-C3, right down to the basic shape of the thing, the Panda still has a real sense of its own identity thanks to neat details including the massive 'Panda' lettering stamped onto the doors, and the bamboo-derived material used on the dashboard.
It offers up to 199 miles of driving on a full charge, which is exactly the same as the bigger battery version of the BYD Dolphin Surf, but for a good chunk of change less.
Read our Fiat Grande Panda review
Citroen e-C3 - £22,095
At £22,095, the Citroen e-C3 is a little more expensive than its cousin at Fiat, but the entry-level Citroen e-C3 Plus trim is better equipped than a Grande Panda Electric Red. Also, as much as we like the Fiat's colourful touches, they won't be for everyone, making the more subtle Citroen e-C3 a good alternative for those wanting to fly under the radar.
Under the skin, it's much the same as the Grande Panda Electric, which means there's a 44kWh battery pack powering a 113PS motor and providing a 199-mile range according to the WLTP cycle.
Read our Citroen e-C3 review
Renault 5 - £22,995
It's hard to believe one of the coolest-looking EVs is also one of the cheapest, but you can indeed buy a Renault 5 for a mere £22,995. Yes, you'll have to settle for the smaller 40kWh battery with the more modestly powerful 120PS motor, but that gives comparable performance and a similar range (190 miles) to the only slightly cheaper Citroen e-C3, but with a whole lot more desirability.
You can spend a lot more than that, with the range-topping Renailt 5 Roland Garros costing £29,995. Somewhere in the middle is the Renault 5 Techno with the bigger battery and more powerful motor, which we think represents the sweet spot of the range. It still won't break the bank, costing £26,995.
Read our Renault 5 review
Citroen e-C3 Aircross - £23,095
If you like the look of the Citroen e-C3 but need just a little more practicality, look no further than the Citroen e-C3 Aircross. It's not drastically larger than its little brother, but the boot space is much more impressive at 460 tp 520 litres depending on where the rear bench is positioned.
The C3 Aircross Hybrid is actually available with a third row of seating, but before you get excited, the electric version does without this option, because it can't be packaged with the battery pack.
Regardless, there's still plenty to like here. At £23,095, the Citroen e-C3 Aircross isn't much more expensive than the e-C3 while its extra weight doesn't impact its electric range too much – it's rated at 188 miles according to the WLTP cycle. The Aircross is, unlike the e-C3, also available with a 54kWh Long Range battery to boost the range to 248 miles.
Read our Citroen C3 Aircross review
Hyundai Inster - £23,495
The Hyundai Inster is a likeable and cleverly designed little EV, but unfortunately, its inclusion on this list comes with a fairly big caveat. The entry-level 01 might not cost too much more than the likes of the Citroen e-C3 and Fiat Grande Panda at £23,495, but we don't recommend this version.
To get to the Hyundai Inster's party-piece sliding/reclining rear bench and folding front seats, which enable this tiny car to be very practical indeed (you can even fit a small surf board in it), you'll need the Hyundai Inster 02 at least, which costs £26,755. This seems a lot for a small car with only a 203-mile range.
In return for your extra cash, you are getting a more premium-feeling product, though and the Hyundai Inster is easily the cutest car here, should that be of importance to you.
Read our Hyundai Inster review
Vauxhall Frontera Electric - £23,495
Proving that Stellantis is starting to rule the roost in the affordable EV world, here's yet another entry from the car manufacturing giant. The Vauxhall Frontera Electric is based on the same platform as the Fiat Grande Panda, Citroen e-C3 and e-C3 Aircross we've already talked about, confusingly called 'Smart Car'. Apparently no one at Stellantis was that worried about confusion with a certain other Smart car.
Anyway, as a consequence, its vital statistics will all sound quite familiar. In fact, it doesn't even look all that different from the Citroen e-C3 Aircross. You can have it with either a 44kWh battery or a 52kWh 'Long Range' pack, with the smaller one coming in at a very affordable £23,495. That's just a smidge more than the Citroen e-C3 Aircross.
Read our Vauxhall Frontera Electric review
Are the cheapest electric cars proper vehicles?
With the exception of the Citroen Ami quadricycle, the cars listed here are genuine cars. Sure, the Ami is cheaper, but it’s an extremely basic machine, with a tiny range and few creature comforts. That’s a compromise too far for British car buyers, which is why you might want to look at the ‘proper’ cars on our list.
Do the cheapest electric cars have tiny EV ranges?
Although the Ami isn't designed for venturing the beyond the city limits, the other cheap electric cars should have enough range to handle a week's worth of commuting and a trip to the coast. Some can be specced with larger battery packs, doing so will increase the purchase price significantly.
Are the cheapest electric cars safe?
It's a bit of a mixed bag in terms of safety, with a few unknowns. At the time of writing, none of the 'Smart Car' Stellantis cars had been tested by Euro NCAP, nor had the Leapmotor T03, while the Renault 5 and Hyundai Inster had achieved satisfactory but not exactly standout ratings of four stars out of five.
Then there's the Dacia Spring, the pre-facelift version of which scored just one star in its NCAP test. The Citroen Ami meanwhile is classified as a quadricycle, thus doesn't need to meet the same safety standards as the 'proper' cars here.
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