Cheapest electric cars in 2025

Forget cheapest electric cars for a second, the Citroen Ami is actually the cheapest new car on sale right now, and by some margin. Even if you head up to the top-spec Citroen Ami Tonic, it'll cost less than £9,000, which is thousands less than a Dacia Sandero. So what's the catch? 

Well, we're playing very fast and loose with the word 'car' here. Technically, the Citroen Ami is a quadricycle. It means the Ami can be driven without a full driving licence by a 16 year-old, but it also means it's limited in use and doesn't have to pass the same kind of safety tests as a car. 

As such, the Citroen Ami has an electric range of just 47 miles, but that doesn't really matter when the top speed is limited to a measly 28mph. You only get two seats, the only real equipment on offer is a heater and you can only charge it from a domestic plug socket. 

Don't write off the funky little Ami, however. It's great fun to thread through town, costs pennies to run and is certainly more secure and safe than a moped when it comes to city commutes or leisure journeys. The Citroen Ami has its place: just don't expect too much from it.

The Dacia Spring is the cheapest new electric car you can buy. And yes, this one's actually a car.

Having been on sale in Europe for a few years, the Spring finally arrived in the UK in 2024, and in facelifted form, too. New prices start at just £14,995, which gets you the Expression trim with a 45PS electric motor, air conditioning and rear parking sensors. If you want a proper infotainment system, you need to upgrade to the £16,995 Extreme trim, which also gives you a punchier 65PS motor.

Range? Around 140 miles on a fully charged battery, which isn't loads, but then this is an avowed city car. If you rarely venture out of town, this should do the job.

Don't feel bad if you've not heard of Leapmotor before, because not many folk in the UK have yet. Leapmotor is a Chinese car company that is part-owned by the multinational manufacturing powerhouse known as Stellantis (the firm that also owns and operates brands including Citroen, Peugeot, DS, Vauxhall, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Jeep, along with many others), and in 2024, the decision was made to start flogging Leapmotor models in Europe through Stellantis' vast network of existing dealerships.

The Leapmotor T03 is the firm's first UK offering, and it's a teeny electric city car. It has a 95PS electric motor connected to a 37.3kWh battery, which gives the T03 a driving range of 165 miles according to official WLTP figures. Just one trim level is offered, and comes very well equipped for the £15,995 you pay. You get alloy wheels, a panoramic sunroof, adaptive cruise control, digital instruments and a 10.1-inch infotainment screen with built-in sat-nav and Bluetooth. However, there's no DAB, Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, which might put some buyers off.

The Fiat Grande Panda Electric is the first of a number of closely related cars on this list. Like all these related cars, it comes from the sprawling Stellantis stable, and it shares the group's new Smart Car Platform (no, not that Smart Car) for small electric and hybrid cars (for the avoidance of doubt, the Leapmotor T03 we just talked about does not share the same architecture), as well as motors, batteries and a variety of tech. And yet, it's the cheapest of the lot of them.

It's a very likeable car, too. It has lots of style, with its cool pixel-like lighting signature, its SUV-like stance and the word 'Panda' embossed in large letters down the sides of the car. It has an interior that's cheerful and surprisingly spacious, and it's a comfortable and easy car to drive. Its electric motor develops a healthy 113PS, and it has an official WLTP range of 199 miles, which is very presentable at this end of the EV market.

As another new small electric model from a Stellantis-Group brand, it'll come as little surprised that this is one of the models to use the Smart Car Platform that we were just talking about. And like the Grande Panda, the Citroen e-C3 comes with SUV-esque looks, a 133PS motor and a 199-mile range. And you have to say, it's another car that looks pretty darned cheerful, inside and out.

What's more, this is no bargain-basement model, with alloy wheels, LED headlights, nicely padded seats, and a proper infotainment system, as well as space for four and a 310-litre boot. Even the top-spec version is less than £24,000 new.

It's certainly not the cheapest EV on our list, but the new Renault 5 might just be the coolest. Or at least, it's a tie between this and the MINI Cooper Electric mentioned further down the page. Renault has done an incredible job of reimagining the classic 5 for modern times and given it a suitably up-to-date electric powertrain in the process. Impressively, the production model looks scarcely different from the concept car revealed a few years ago.

Under that neo-retro bodywork is a 40kWh battery pack giving a fairly modest official range of 186 miles, which means you may struggle to get 150 miles on a single charge with mixed driving. The larger 52kWh battery, which provides up to 252 miles of range, isn't available with the base Evolution trim, so you'll need to upgrade to Techno. 

Paired with the bigger pack, a Renault 5 Techno is a still very reasonable £26,995, and you also get a more powerful motor to sweeten the deal.

Don't worry, you not having a bout of deja vu here, because the Citroen e-C3 Aircross isn't quite the same as the e-C3 that's already appeared on this list, despite looking incredibly similar. It is, in fact, quite a bit bigger that its sister car - despite being built on the same Smart Car Platform - so it's even roomier inside. So much so that some versions of the C3 Aircross can even be specified with seven seats, although sadly, that possibility only applies to combustion-engined versions, and not the electric ones.

But despite its extra size, the e-C3 Aircross only costs a grand more than its smaller stablemate. The extra size and weight does mean that the range from the car's 44kWh battery takes a small hit, although 188 miles with still be enough for many drivers. The Aircross is also stylish, cheerful, and easy and pleasant to drive.

We'd argue that, of the cars competing for the title of being the coolest on this list, the Hyundai Inster has to be right up there. Its quirky and unconventional design gives it a look like nothing else on the road, which is something Hyundai has become rather good at in recent years.

That strangely proportioned body conceals a surprisingly spacious cabin,  although you only get four seats and the boot is a little on the titchy side. The interior is nicely finished, too, and comes packed with big-car features, even in entry-level 01 trim.

This entry-level car gets a 97PS front-mounted electric motor and a 42kWh battery, giving an official WLTP range of 203 miles. If you want/need a little more than that, and you have (quite a lot) more money to spend, the 02 and Cross versions come with a more powerful 115PS electric motor and a 49kWh battery for a range of 229 miles.

Yet another model built on Stellantis' Smart Car Platform, the Vauxhall Frontera is currently the priciest of them. You may recognise the name from a rugged off-roader from the early 1990s, but these days, it's worn by a small SUV that's available with an all-electric powertrain.

In fact, beneath its more sensible bodywork, the Frontera is all-but identical to the Citroen C3 Aircross we talked about earlier. Its dimensions are very similar, and it can also be specified with seven seats, although again, not if you choose the electric version: this option is only available with the hybrid variant. Again, the electric powertrain features a 113PS electric motor and a 44kWh battery, but the Vauxhall's official WLTP range is a couple of miles down on the Citroen's at 186 miles.

The Ora 03, as its now known, was originally launched in the UK as the Ora Funky Cat, but it would appear that the original name was a bit too out-there for conservative British buyers, hence the rebrand to a name that couldn't be more dull if it tried. It's actually produced by Great Wall – one of China's biggest car manufacturers – and sold in the UK by IM Group (who also import Subaru and Isuzu models).

Once you get over the dull/bizarre name (it's called the Good Cat in China), it's actually a pretty decent electric car. You get quirky looks, a feel-good, high-quality interior and quite a lot of passenger space (although the boot is bizarrely small). For this money, the Ora 03 comes in Pure trim, with a 48kWh battery that provides a range of up to 193 miles. Or, for £28,995, you can have the Pro version, which gets a 63kWh battery that gives you up to 260 miles.

The modern-day Fiat 500 first arrived in 2008 and has been a huge success for the Italian brand. For this third-generation model, Fiat has made the bold decision of making it electric only.

Still one of the smallest cars on the road at just 3.6m long, the Fiat 500 Electric starts at just £25,035 brand new. This gets you a modest 24kWh battery which gives a 118-mile range, but versions with larger batteries are available with a 200-mile combined range. For clarity, it's not built on the same Smart Car Platform that we've mentioned numerous times before, though, because it was designed and developed before the Fiat Group merged with the PSA Group to form Stellantis.

Fiat's freshened up the 500's already stylish looks with some nice little touches, and while entry-level trim is pretty basic, other models get niceties such as a 10.25-inch touchscreen with sat-nav and fancy styling add-ons. 

Chinese firm BYD has made quite the splash in the UK, launching several impressive cars within a very short space of time. The Dolphin hatchback is the most affordable, costing from £26,195 when brand new.

It represents a lot of car for the price, with a battery range of around 200 miles from the Dolphin's smaller 45kWh battery, and up to 265 miles from the larger 60kWh unit. Power for the entry-level model is 95PS, while more expensive versions can have up to 204PS.

There's lots of room inside, with a 345-litre boot and an eye-catching infotainment system that swivels from portrait to landscape depending on your preference. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are bundled in, too.

The MINI Cooper Electric's predecessor often struggled to get better than 100 miles of range on a cold day, even though its official WLTP range figure stood at 145 miles. Its successor, though, does a bit better. For the money mentioned, you get the MINI Cooper E with a 184PS motor and a 36.6kWh battery, giving a slightly better range of 185 miles. Spend three grand more, and you can have the Cooper SE, which has 218PS, a battery of 49.2kWh, and a range of 247 miles.

What hasn't changed is how fun the MINI Electric is to drive: it's probably the most entertaining EV you can buy without parting with a serious amount of money for something like a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N or Porsche Taycan. It also, as mentioned, competes with the Renault 5 and Hyundai Inster for the title of being the coolest EV at this end of the market. There are a couple of catches, though. The MINI Cooper Electric is not a big car, with a small boot and tight rear legroom, and those wanting to use the rear seats will find ingress and egress tricky since the MINI is only available in a three-door configuration.

It may not be the cheapest EV on our list, but we reckon that the MG4 is one of the best-value electric cars you can buy right now. It's the brand's first entry into the family hatchback sector and should be seen as a direct rival to the Volkswagen ID.3, making it considerably bigger than most of the other cars here.

But while the ID.3 starts at around £31,000, the MG4 starts at just £26,995. What's more, the interior is finished nicely, it has plenty of good tech, and there's enough space for a growing family. It's also very good to drive, with tidy handling and a comfortable ride. 

You're not compromised when it comes to electric range, either, with even the most affordable MG4 capable of covering 218 miles before needing to be charged. Pick the Trophy Extended Range model, and you'll get 323 miles on a single charge.

The Citroen e-C4 has been moving up and down this list on a fairly regular basis in recent times, and that's because there have been lots of fluctuations in its price. There was a time it would've cost you somewhere in the region of £32,000 but, for now at least, the range kicks off at just £27,650. That means it just about clings on to a place on our list despite the arrival of several newer and cheaper alternatives.

For yout money, you get the You! version, which comes with a 136PS powertrain and the smaller of two battery options offered in Stellantis-produced electric cars, rated at 50kWh. This gives it a range of 219 miles. Pay a chunk more (around £32,000), and you can also have it in 156PS 54kWh form, which has a range of 257 miles.

There's more to like about the e-C4 than just the price, though. It's rugged SUV-style design certainly appeals, but it's actually more of a family hatchback. It's bigger and roomier than most of the EVs in this list, too, so there's space for four adults to get comfortable, and a decent 380-litre boot. What's more, the car has just undergone a significant facelift, introducing a variety of improvements, to make it more appealing than ever.