Average Cost of an Electric Car UK 2024
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Electric cars are known for being cheaper to run than combustion engine cars (as we discuss here), but how much does an electric car cost to buy? We've gathered data on dozens of popular UK makes and models to find out.
(And if you're curious about charging costs, also read our article on the cost to charge an electric car.)
Purchase Prices of Electric Cars UK
The average cost to buy an electric car in the UK is around £46,000, with EV prices ranging from £14,995 (Dacia Spring Electric) up to £333,000 (Rolls-Royce Spectre), or even more.
Luxury cars such as Tesla, Porsche, Audi, Jaguar and Mercedes (many of which made our list of fastest electric cars) will set you back £69k on average, while a non-luxury EV costs closer to £33k on average. The cheapest models from the cheapest 10 brands cost around £26,500 on average. Prices have come down for EVs in the UK, with more cheap models entering the market in 2024.
Cheap electric car brands
| 10 Cheapest Electric Car Brands UK | Cheapest Models | Starting Price | Battery (kWh) | Average Real Range (combined driving) in miles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cheapest Dacia EV | Dacia Spring Electric 45 | £14,995 | 25 | 100 |
| 2 | Cheapest Citroen EV | Citroen e-C3 | £21,990 | 44 | 165 |
| 3 | Cheapest Fiat EV | Fiat 500e Hatchback 24 kWh | £24,995 | 21.3 | 85 |
| 4 | Cheapest BYD EV | BYD DOLPHIN 44.9 kWh Active | £26,195 | 44.9 | 160 |
| 5 | Cheapest MG EV | MG 4 EV Standard Range | £26,995 | 50.8 | 185 |
| 6 | Cheapest Renault EV | Renault 5 E-Tech 52kWh 150hp | £28,000 | 40 | 160 |
| 7 | Cheapest Nissan EV | Nissan Leaf 39 kWh | £28,495 | 39 | 145 |
| 8 | Cheapest Mini EV | Mini Cooper Electric E | £30,000 | 36.8 | 140 |
| 9 | Cheapest Mazda EV | Mazda MX-30 | £31,250 | 30 | 105 |
| 10 | Cheapest Smart EV | Smart #1 Pro | £31,950 | 47 | 155 |
Looking for value for money? The following chart plots these cars by starting OTR price and estimated real range. It looks like the Citroen e-63 and the MG MG4 EV Standard Range offer the best range for the price, depending on your budget and range needs:
Here are some more stats on the cost of electric cars in the UK:
| How much does an electric car cost? | |
|---|---|
| Cheapest electric car (Dacia Spring Electric 45) | £14,995 |
| Average cost of cheapest models from 12 cheapest brands | £26,500 |
| Non-luxury electric cars | £33,000 |
| All UK electric cars | £46,000 |
| Luxury electric cars | £69,000 |
| Most expensive electric car (Rolls-Royce Spectre) | £330,000 |
Insuring an Electric Car
As you've probably heard in the news lately, the cost of EV insurance is more than people might expect, because it is more expensive to insure an electric car than an internal combustion engine (ICE) car. Why? Lots of factors, including a shortage of mechanics qualified to work on EVs and the high cost of battery replacement.
Even the companies we discuss is our page on cheap car insurance might charge more for EVs, although they can generally be a good place to start. Also check out our piece discussing electric car insurance companies.
Methodology
We gathered data from the EV Database on battery capacities, starting OTR prices and ranges to learn more about the cost of EVs in the UK. Here are the cars we used in the study, which we grouped by luxury, cheap and other non-luxury cars (note, to pick the "cheapest" cars we compared the cheapest car from each EV make):
Luxury Electric Vehicles UK
- Audi A6 Sportback e-tron performance
- Audi Q4 e-tron 45
- Audi Q8 e-tron 50 quattro
- Audi Q8 e-tron 50 quattro
- BMW i4 eDrive40
- BMW i5
- BMW iX
- Jaguar I-Pace EV400
- Mercedes EQS 450+
- Porsche Taycan Plus
- Tesla Model 3 Performance
- Tesla Model Y Long Range
Cheapest Electric Vehicles from the 10 Cheapest EV Brands UK
- BYD DOLPHIN 44.9 kWh Active
- Citroen e-C3
- Dacia Spring Electric 45
- Fiat 500e Hatchback 24 kWh
- Mazda MX-30
- MG 4 EV Standard Range
- Mini Cooper Electric E
- Nissan Leaf 39 kWh
- Renault 5 E-Tech 52kWh 150hp
- Smart #1 Pro
Other Popular Non-Luxury Electric Vehicles UK
- BMW iX
- BYD Dolphin 60.4 kWh
- Citroen e-C4
- Fiat 500e Hatchback 24 kWh
- Hyundai Kona Electric
- Kia EV6
- KIA EV9 RWD
- MG 4 EV Standard Range
- Skoda Enyaq
- Tesla Model 3 Standard Range
- Volkswagen ID.7 Pro
- Volvo EX30
Supporting Data
Note about the data below: To calculate the cost to fully charge a car, we therefore multiplied the usable battery capacity of a car by the unit cost of electricity. We used two different electricity prices for home charging: 1) the current Energy Price Cap of 24.5p/kWh and 2) an Octopus EV tariff through which you can charge an EV at night for 7p/kWh. Cars charged at expensive fast-charge public stations can cost multiples of these figures to charge.
| Electric Car Purchase and Charging Costs | Real Range (miles) | Battery (kWh) | Est Cost of Full Charge (EPC) | Est Cost per Mile (EPC) | Est Cost of Full Charge (EV tariff) | Est Cost per Mile (EV tariff) | Starting price (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audi A6 Sportback e-tron performance | 370 | 94.9 | £23.3 | £0.063 | £6.6 | £0.018 | £68,000 |
| Audi Q4 e-tron 45 | 260 | 77 | £18.9 | £0.073 | £5.4 | £0.021 | £50,745 |
| Audi Q8 e-tron 50 quattro | 260 | 89 | £21.8 | £0.084 | £6.2 | £0.024 | £70,715 |
| BMW i4 eDrive40 | 320 | 81.1 | £19.9 | £0.062 | £5.7 | £0.018 | £59,365 |
| BMW i5 | 285 | 81.2 | £19.9 | £0.070 | £5.7 | £0.020 | £69,945 |
| BMW iX | 240 | 64.7 | £15.9 | £0.066 | £4.5 | £0.019 | £45,465 |
| BYD DOLPHIN 44.9 kWh Active | 160 | 44.9 | £11.0 | £0.069 | £3.1 | £0.020 | £26,195 |
| BYD Dolphin 60.4 kWh | 210 | 60.5 | £14.8 | £0.071 | £4.2 | £0.020 | £30,195 |
| Citroen e-C3 | 165 | 44 | £10.8 | £0.065 | £3.1 | £0.019 | £21,990 |
| Citroen e-C4 | 180 | 46.3 | £11.3 | £0.063 | £3.2 | £0.018 | £31,960 |
| Dacia Spring Electric 45 | 100 | 25 | £6.1 | £0.061 | £1.8 | £0.018 | £14,995 |
| Fiat 500e Hatchback 24 kWh | 85 | 21.3 | £5.2 | £0.061 | £1.5 | £0.018 | £24,995 |
| Hyundai Kona Electric | 180 | 48.4 | £11.9 | £0.066 | £3.4 | £0.019 | £34,995 |
| Jaguar I-Pace EV400 | 235 | 84.7 | £20.8 | £0.088 | £5.9 | £0.025 | £69,995 |
| Kia EV6 | 255 | 74 | £18.1 | £0.071 | £5.2 | £0.020 | £45,245 |
| KIA EV9 RWD | 280 | 96 | £23.5 | £0.084 | £6.7 | £0.024 | £64,995 |
| Mazda MX-30 | 105 | 30 | £7.4 | £0.070 | £2.1 | £0.020 | £31,250 |
| Mercedes EQS 450+ | 425 | 118 | £28.9 | £0.068 | £8.3 | £0.019 | £112,610 |
| MG 4 EV Standard Range | 185 | 50.8 | £12.4 | £0.067 | £3.6 | £0.019 | £26,995 |
| Mini Cooper Electric E | 140 | 36.6 | £9.0 | £0.064 | £2.6 | £0.018 | £30,000 |
| Nissan Leaf 39 kWh | 145 | 39 | £9.6 | £0.066 | £2.7 | £0.019 | £28,495 |
| Porsche Taycan Plus | 350 | 97 | £23.8 | £0.068 | £6.8 | £0.019 | £90,954 |
| Renault 5 E-Tech 52kWh 150hp | 200 | 52 | £12.7 | £0.064 | £3.6 | £0.018 | £28,000 |
| Skoda Enyaq | 210 | 58 | £14.2 | £0.068 | £4.1 | £0.019 | £38,970 |
| Smart #1 Pro | 155 | 47 | £11.5 | £0.074 | £3.3 | £0.021 | £31,950 |
| Tesla Model 3 Performance | 290 | 75 | £18.4 | £0.063 | £5.3 | £0.018 | £59,990 |
| Tesla Model 3 Standard Range | 260 | 57.5 | £14.1 | £0.054 | £4.0 | £0.015 | £39,990 |
| Tesla Model Y Long Range | 260 | 75 | £18.4 | £0.071 | £5.3 | £0.020 | £59,990 |
| Volkswagen ID.7 Pro | 295 | 77 | £18.9 | £0.064 | £5.4 | £0.018 | £51,550 |
| Volvo EX30 | 170 | 49 | £12.0 | £0.071 | £3.4 | £0.020 | £32,850 |