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 very new to the market, so used prices are still comparable to new, but that's no bad thing because the 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 with updates over its original 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 should 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.

The electric version of Citroen's C3 costs from just £21,990 new, which is remarkably affordable for a car with up to 199 miles of battery range.

As it's brand new, with the first cars yet to be delivered at the time of writing, there are no cars on the used market yet, but when there are, they'll represent even more of a deal.

This is no bargain-basement model, either. It's a proper car 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 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 net 150 miles on a single charge with mixed driving. The 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.

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, although you can still buy the old model as a budget new car choice. 

Still one of the smallest cars on the road at just 3.6m long, the Fiat 500 Electric starts at just £24,995 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. 

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 on the Dolphin's smaller 45kWh battery and up to 265 miles on 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.

All in all, we reckon, the MG4 is one of the best budget 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. 

But while the ID.3 starts at around £37,000, the MG4 starts at just £26,995, and the top of the range MG4 – in what's called Trophy Extended Range trim – costs around the same as you'll pay for the entry-level Volkswagen. Granted, it's a touch smaller than the ID.3, but the interior is finished nicely, has plenty of good tech and enough space for a growing family. It's also surprisingly 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.

Mazda likes to do things differently, so there was no doubt that its first electric vehicle would stand out against competitors. For a start, the Mazda MX-30 has a relatively small 33.5kWh battery, which means it can cover just 124 miles between charges according to official WLTP tests (and, likely, considerably less in reality).

That's not necessarily a bad thing, though. Smaller batteries are kinder to the environment (both to produce and recycle), while they're also a lot quicker to charge. Less than 30 minutes at a public rapid charger will top up the Mazda MX-30.

What's more, the Mazda MX-30 has a fun driving experience, a neatly designed interior with quirky rear-hinged rear doors and plenty of standard kit. It's priced competitively compared with other small SUVs, too, with new prices starting at £27,995.

With Peugeot's 208 enjoying long-term favourite status in the UK, it's no surprise that the French manufacturer decided to make an electric version. The e-208 takes everything great about the standard car and simply removes the emissions, giving you a hatchback that's stylish, well-equipped and great to drive around town.

New prices start at £29,950, which as you'll see later is significantly less than you pay for the mechanically very similar Vauxhall Corsa Electric. But, even better is the fact that because the e-208 been on sale for a few years now, you can pick up a used one for far less.

While it's not the roomiest car of its type, it's packed with features including a touchscreen infotainment system, with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto all included. A full charge of the standard 50kWh battery will get you up to 225 miles, while the upgraded 51kWh battery (available from late 2023) extends that to 248 miles.

The MINI Cooper Electric's predecessor often struggled to get better than 100 miles of range on a cold day, but the current car is considerably better in that regard. The official figure is now a much more impressive 249 miles for versions with the larger battery.

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 on something like a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N or Porsche Taycan. It also, as mentioned, competes with the Renault 5 for the coolest EV at this end of the market.

There are a couple of catches, though. Firstly, 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. Secondly, Cheaper versions use a smaller battery pack that's only good for up to 185 miles. Should you want more range than that, you'll need to spend at least £34,620.

Looking for an electric vehicle that is practical enough to replace your family car? Say hello to the MG ZS EV. Like all modern MGs, this compact electric SUV gives you lots of metal for the money, meaning that it represents very good value, and even better, it comes with generous equipment lists as standard. MG also provides a seven-year warranty.

The company says that although the ZS is also available as a combustion-engined car, the ZS was originally designed as an EV, and this means the electric version looks and feels identical to the standard car. 

You also get an impressive 470 litres of luggage space, which is far more than you'll get in most of its EV rivals. It's now offered with a bigger battery providing a range of up to 273 miles, which is pretty impressive considering its affordable price tag: it starts at £30,495 new.

If you want maximum bang for your buck, the MG5 EV is quite literally the most amount of electric car you can get for your money. For around £31,000 you get an EV estate car that's 4.6m long and has more than enough space for all the family. 

No, it isn't particularly lavishly trimmed or exciting to drive. But it's a lot less basic than you expect, with standard equipment including adaptive cruise control and a reversing camera. The cabin is roomy and comfortable, while a 479-litre boot is bigger than anything else here. 

On the road, the MG5 EV offers perky performance and a soft ride. Early versions could be had with a smaller 52kWh battery offering a respectable 214-mile range, but as of 2024, new buyers will only get the 61kWh battery with up to 250 miles available on a charge. That's plenty for those longer family trips, and 50kW rapid charging is possible if you need to go further. 

With some other electric cars increasing in price noticeably over the past year or so, the Citroen e-C4 has entered this list as a surprisingly affordable buy, with prices starting at £31,960. It isn't just a cheap electric car, though, as it has lots of things to recommend it. 

It's rugged SUV design certainly appeals, but it's actually more of a family hatchback. It sits alongside the regular petrol C4, and is cheaper than a number of electric city cars. But there's space for four adults to get comfortable, and a decent 380-litre boot. 

With an official range of up to 220 miles from the 136PS 50kWh model, or 260 miles from the 156PS 54kWh version, the Citroen e-C4 could well be used as your main family car. It also has impressive 100kW rapid-charging capability for those longer journeys, while the big ace up its sleeve is its very comfortable and smooth ride. Even the entry-level model gets LED headlights, 18-inch alloy wheels and a 10.0-inch infotainment system with navigation, and it even has a heated steering wheel. 

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, especially for £31,995 new. You get quirky looks, a feel-good and high-quality interior and quite a large car for your money. The Ora 03 comes with a 48kWh battery that provides a range of up to 193 miles, or a 63kWh battery that gives you up to 260 miles. A public rapid charger can top up the battery in around 45 minutes.

Once upon a time, Kia made bargain-basement cars. Those days have long since gone, but the Kia EV3 is just about affordable enough to make it onto our list. The entry-level version is no poor relation, either, with a range of up to 267 miles. Go for an EV3 with the larger battery, and that figure grows to 372 miles.

Regardless of the version you choose, you'll get a striking-looking car that's sure to turn heads - this is a far cry from the boxy Kia Soul which the EV3 indirectly replaces. Plus, the EV3 has an excellent interior with a stylish, minimalistic design. 

The EV3 Air that kicks off the range still comes with a decent level of equipment, including plenty of safety technology. It's also a reasonably quick car, with 204PS from the single motor making for a 7.5-second 0-62mph time.