Cheapest electric cars 2024

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 in 2024. 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.

New for 2024, 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.

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.

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.

It shows you how much the market has changed that the Vauxhall Corsa-e (since rebranded as the Corsa Electric) went from being a seriously affordable electric car purchase to being massively undercut by a large number of cars on this list. Various sizeable prices rises haven't helped, either. But that doesn't mean the electric Vauxhall doesn't deserve your attention.

Now priced from £32,445 new in Design trim, the Corsa Electric is well-equipped from the off with LED headlights and a 10-inch touchscreen. A 2023 facelift means it now properly looks the part, too. But used car buyers not bothered by looks will be delighted to know that the earlier model starts from around £8000 with a few years of wear and tear.

The Vauxhall Corsa Electric is well-made and offers a refined, comfortable and fun driving experience. It's agile around town, with punchy performance and an electric range of up to 222 miles using the 136PS motor and a 50kWh battery. Since the facelift, there's also a Long Range model with 156PS and a range of 256 miles.

If the Corsa Electric's design doesn't do it for you, then the Peugeot e-208 is another option. It's basically the same car underneath, but has a more striking appearance and an interior with higher-class finishes, and it's now considerably cheaper than the Vauxhall, too.

The Fiat 600e might be the second Fiat model on our list after the 500e we talked about earlier, but the badge on the snouts of the two cars is among only a handful of things they share. You see, the 500e was developed and signed off by Fiat back when it was part of the FCA group of companies, but since then, FCA has merged with the PSA Group that owned brands like Peugeot and Citroen, to form the multi-brand manufacturing powerhouse that is Stellantis. And as the 600e is rather bigger than its 500e sibling, it's actually based on the same CMP-2 platform that underpins seemingly countless similarly sized Stellantis models, including the Peugeot e-208 and Vauxhall Corsa Electric models that also appear on this list.

It's offered only with the higher-grade powertrain offered by its sister cars, meaning it has a 54kWh battery for a range of up to 254 miles, while its 154PS electric motor gives it a 0-62mph time of 9.0 seconds. However, that's not really what the 600e is about. It's about style. And as such it's a cheerful little car, with charismatic design touches inside and out, plus perky performance. Okay, so it's not the best car of its type to drive, and neither is it the most practical, but it still manages to somehow be likeable.

We just mentioned that the Fiat 600e bears very little mechanical resemblance to its Fiat 500e sister car, but that doesn't mean that the smaller car's mechanicals haven't been used elsewhere. Enter this, the racy Abarth 500e.

Now, you might be wondering why the Abarth 500e costs so much more than the Fiat 500e, and it's basically because the Abarth hot-hatch version has more. More power (152PS), more torque (235Nm) and more performance (0-62mph in 7.0 seconds). It is, if you will, an electric car designed for petrolheads. It even has an exterior speaker that pipes out the noise of a burbling petrol engine at an almost embarrassingly loud volume. You'll find that either wonderfully charming or unforgiveably naff, depending on your point of view.

What it doesn't have more of, though, is range: you get 164 miles from the 42kWH battery, which in the 500e is good for almost 200 miles. Still, the little Abarth is a hoot to drive, with up-and-at-'em handling and pointy steering, while it's also not to uncomfortable on scrappy road surfaces.