One big sticking point of switching to an electric vehicle is high list prices. However, we're here to show how affordable an EV can be, and have rounded up the best electric car deals on offer in the UK.
Many electric cars are available with PCP car finance. These are a long-term financial agreement that comprise an up-front deposit and monthly payments over a set period of, say, two to five years. Often, the lender applies interest to the loan, but many EVs benefit from 0% APR to encourage drivers to make the switch.
At the end of the finance deal, buyers can hand the car back with nothing more to pay, or buy the car outright by paying off a lump sum – or, most often, use the collateral in the car to put towards another new-car PCP deal.
Electric car deals are also available on outright hire purchase (HP) packages, while other deals simply offer considerable up-front savings for those who may want to pay cash.
Electric car finance deals are designed to help make the higher up-front cost of EVs more manageable. The government knows this, too, and has recently introduced the Electric Car Grant, which gives eligible models that cost less than £37,000 a discount of up to £3750.
This discount would be included if you opt for PCP, too, so spreading the payments over several years takes away the ‘sticker shock’. Add in the considerable savings you get from running an EV – charging from home is far cheaper than filling up with petrol and diesel – and electric car deals help turn EVs into real money-savers.
Carmakers are tied to the new ZEV Mandate, which means all car brands have to sell a certain number of electric cars each year or face fines. That's good news if you're looking for a deal, as incentives like 0% APR, deposit contributions and free home chargers are all being offered to encourage drivers to switch to EVs, in addition to the government grant, which is part of a larger package of measures to make electric cars easier to live with.
Best of all, an appealing electric car deal means you can get into a future-proof car for far less than you might expect. Check out the electric car deals here to see how much you can save!
The Audi Q4 e-tron is a posh and practical electric SUV crammed with technology, and, for extra peace of mind, it comes with an excellent battery range. It also has a really excellent interior that feels a cut above the competition.
This sporty S Line 40 model benefits from an Audi deposit contribution of £7750, which helps drop monthly payments down to £509 over a four-year PCP deal with a 6.9% APR. The mileage limit is a useful 10,000 per year, too.
We’ve said that the MG4 is the best budget electric car, and when it’s available with 0% APR it’s even more attractive. You can drive around in an MG4 SE 125kW 51kWh model from just £269 per month, and if you want the more powerful, longer-range models then they’re just £289, £329 or £359. Customer deposits start at under £4700, too.
MG is also giving buyers of the MG4 and MG4 XPOWER a £1500 MG Electric Car Grant, mirroring the government's new electric car discount initiative. If you opt for the 0% deal you get £1500 off, or there's an extra £1000 test drive discount, but only if you opt for a 49-month 2.9% APR deal. You also have to request this as a test drive voucher online and cash it in, so don't forget to sign up if you're in the market for a deal.
The BMW i4 is a sporty, all-electric coupe that's genuinely great to drive and has a fantastic interior. BMW currently has deals on the more powerful i4 M60 and this i4 eDrive M Sport.
Choose the latter and it could be yours for £649 a month on a four-year deal, with a low APR of 4.9% and a sizeable BMW sales offer of £7042 to give you a hand. If you're feeling the need for speed, the i4 M60 deal starts at £899 a month with a £9544 discount.
Deposit: £6166.83 (+ £7041.75 BMW deposit contribution)
Monthly payments: 47 x £749 (£35,203)
Optional final payment: £20,092.85
Total payable: £61,462.68
Mileage per year: 10,000
Representative APR: 4.9%
Deal ends: 30 September 2025
The Mercedes EQE features all the trademark Mercedes traits, including a quiet and comfortable drive, but with the added bonus of long-range electric power and a tech-fest of an interior. Right now you can pick up a Mercedes EQE 350+ Sport Edition for £768 a month with a low 2.9% APR on a four-year deal.
The monthly payment is significant, but held in check with a £9500 deposit contribution and the fact that this deal is with zero customer deposit to pay. Chip in a 10% deposit (£5961.50) and monthly payments drop to £636.02
Deposit: £0 (+ £9500 Mercedes deposit contribution)
Monthly payments: 48 x £767.50 (£36,840)
Optional final payment: £27,775
Total payable: £64,625
Mileage per year: 8000
Representative APR: 2.9%
Deal ends: 30 September 2025
The Skoda Elroq is the firm's latest EV and the smaller sibling to the Enyaq. The Elroq is perfect for small families, and boasts a great range, loads of interior space and is even pretty fun to drive. Skoda is offering a choice of PCP deals on the Elroq.
There's a £2750 deposit contribution on a four-year 6.4% APR deal at £322 a month, or 0% APR over a 36-month term. There's a generous 10,000-mile annual limit, too, and we're featuring the entry-level Elroq SE 50 here. You can also pick up the car's first two services for a flat fee of £199.
Although the Hyundai Kona Electric is more conventional looking than its Ioniq 5 and 6 siblings, it's actually Hyundai's best-selling electric car. It's comfortable and promises over 310 miles on a single battery charge, so it's not hard to see why it's a hit with buyers.
This feature-packed Advance spec car is on offer with two deals. There's the 36-month 0% APR offer below, which also can be had with zero customer deposit required, and a 48-month 4.9% APR deal. Both also get a £1500 Hyundai Electric Car Grant and a £500 Summer Event deposit contribution until the end of August.
The Volvo EX40, for those who don't speak Volvo, is the electric version of the Volvo XC40, which used to be called an XC40 Recharge. As the EX40 it remains a compact and smartly designed small electric SUV, and Volvo is currently offering £6000 towards your deposit if you opt for a mid-range Plus or top-spec Ultra trim level.
If you're in a rush, you can get the discount on a car with a spec you like that's already in production, as below, or you can choose your own colours, extras and so on if you don't mind waiting longer for delivery. We've chosen the EX40 in Plus trim that's already running down the production line, which has a £2000 discount in addition to the £6000 PCP deposit contribution.
If you're looking for an EV to be your household's only car, you could do worse than the Volkswagen ID.4. Its 349-mile range is plenty for all life's big trips, while the interior is spacious and the ride is comfortable.
VW offers two deals on the ID.4. We're featuring the ID.4 Match with 0% APR over 36 months, while there also a 48-month deal at 6.9% APR with a smaller customer deposit, £415 monthly payments and a £7000 deposit contribution.
The Dacia Spring is one of the most affordable electric vehicles on the market, and this latest deal gets you one for just £132 a month.
Dacia is throwing in a £2250 deposit contribution and 0% APR on a 48-month PCP deal, whether you opt for the entry-level 45PS model or more powerful 65PS version. You also get a domestic charging lead thrown in. To demonstrate how affordable the Spring is, we've gone for the top Extreme 65PS trim.
Deposit: £2933 (+ £2250 Dacia deposit contribution)
Monthly payments: 48 x £132 (£6336)
Optional final payment: £5492
Total payable: £16,995
Mileage per year: 6000
Representative APR: 0%
Deal ends: 30 September 2025
The Ford Explorer might not be as familiar a name in the UK as it is over in the States. But the VW ID.4-based Explorer sold here bares no relation to the one sold in the US either. Our electric Explorer is a family SUV that can be had in three trims, Style, Select and Premium and three powertrains.
We've gone for mid-range Select that only comes with the extended range rear-wheel drive option, but good for a claimed 374 miles. The Explorer is available on a 48-month 0% APR Ford Options PCP deal that includes a £3700 deposit contribution and the grandly-named Ford Power Promise, which gets you a free home charger and 10,000 miles of charging credit.
The UK Electric Car Grant is a £650 million fund intended to make buying a brand-new electric car more affordable and encourage people to switch to an EV before new petrol and diesel car sales are phased out in 2030.
The maximum grant amount is £3750 off the car's OTR price, although a £1500 grant is available for models that partially meet the scheme criteria. Carmakers have to apply to add their models to the scheme, and only models that cost £37,000 or less are eligible, along with other conditions in order to qualify for the full amount.
Applications began on July 16, and the first models to qualify will be announced on August 11. However, carmakers including Leapmotor, GWM, Skywell, Smart, Hyundai and Volvo have all announced equivalent grant discounts so you don't have to wait to get behind the wheel of a shiny new EV at a discounted price.
Electric car finance helps make EVs more affordable by spreading the payments over several years. This offsets the fact electric cars oftne have higher prices than petrol and diesel cars. What's more, because the vast majority of new-car buyers use PCP to get behind the wheel of a new car, and carmakers want more people to switch to electric cars, there are some fantastic deals on EVs available, including 0% or low APR offers, significant deposit contributions that can mean you don't need to stump up any more than the monthly payments, and other incentives like free home chargers or charging credit to help get you on your way.
To help encourage new-car buyers to make the switch to driving an electric car, car manufacturers frequently offer competitive deals on EVs. These are often extremely tempting, and are aimed at turning the heads of even the most sceptical drivers who aren't planning to go electric any time soon. That's because, as part of the Zero Emissions Vehicles mandate, carmakers must sell a certain percentage of electric cars as part of the total fleet of new cars they sell in the UK or face significant fines.
Yes, is the simple answer. Providing you pass a credit check, which is standard practice with setting up all PCP agreements, getting a used electric car with a PCP requires the same process as with a petrol or diesel-powered model. If you're looking to buy a used electric car, it's worth bearing in mind how much of the car's battery warranty is remaining. Generally, although this varies a little between car makes and models, a battery warranty should cover the car's first eight years or 100,000 miles, so opting for the newest electric car with the fewest miles is worth considering. Luckily, there's more and more used EVs available, which helps make prices more affordable, too.
Buying an electric car can be daunting for a number of reasons, ranging from the fact that an EV drives differently to the fact that recharging it requires a different approach from filling up a conventional car with petrol. However, one thing that isn't different is the fact that electric car finance works just like any other type of car finance. The vast majority of new cars in the UK are bought using PCP, and that's the most common type of electric car finance, too. Electric car HP, or hire purchase, is also popular, and there's also the option of Personal Contract Hire, commonly called leasing, if you don't need the option of owning the car.
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