The cheapest electric cars around the world

We hear a lot about the affordability of electric vehicles (EVs) in other markets, and are often asked why Australian motorists don’t have access to ‘cheap’ EVs?

What does cheap mean though? The average Australian new-car purchase is now in excess of $50,000 and there are only two new cars that can be had for less than $20,000 drive-away (MG 3 and Kia Picanto), which both have traditional petrol engines.

We'd love to see an electric vehicle hit the Australian market with a price point under $40,000, but that may still be a little way off.

How does the rest of the world fare, though? Are we really missing out on cut-price electric transportation? Why can't we simply choose some of the 'cheap' cars available overseas?

Being a right-hand-drive market – in one corner of the world – is a key factor, as is our favour for cars that can answer a multitude of buyer needs, but as you’ll see below, shopping in a like-for-like market, things aren’t as different or as disparate as you may have thought.

Here are the most affordable electric cars in some key markets, with their local price and Australian converted price noted for comparison.

Australia's newest 'most affordable' electric car is the GWM Ora hatchback. It's known as the Ora Good Cat in other markets, which is a far more entertaining name!

The list price of the GWM Ora matches the previous cost leader, the MG ZS EV.

However, the GWM Ora is priced between $44,490 and $47,891 on the road (depending on where you live), which undercuts the MG ZS EV by between $1049 and $1705, again depending on your location.

Powered by a 48kWh battery and single electric motor, the Ora offers 126kW and 310km of claimed driving range.

For global context, UK buyers can have their Ora (called the Funky Cat) for £30,495 ($AU52,800) which is the same as what the MG ZS EV costs, making Australia's grass greener on both counts.

Like Australia, buyers in the land of the long white cloud have both the Ora Good Cat and MG ZS EV sitting at the pointy end of the EV market. The tables are turned slightly in New Zealand though, as the MG takes the number-one spot at $NZ49,990 drive away to the Ora's $NZ49,990 plus on-road costs price.

The little MG is a solid accessible entry point to the world of full-electric motoring, as for your sub-$50k spend, you score a 50.3kWh battery, V2L capability and a reasonably practical compact SUV body style.

While we may look to the US as a market that seems a long way ahead of Australia in terms of electric vehicle adoption and infrastructure, the scale of the US population means that still only 5 per cent of new vehicle sales are electric, to our 2 per cent.

That said, the large distances and car-centric society make the US a close comparison to Australia in terms of the ‘types’ of cars that people will buy.

The most affordable EV in the US then is a familiar name, the Nissan Leaf.

Pricing for the Leaf starts from the equivalent of $AU41,000, or about $10,000 less than a Leaf is priced in Australia ($50,990). Note that the specification is different, with the Australian car featuring a higher grade of equipment and trim (leather as opposed to cloth seats for example).

Why can't our Leaf be cheaper? Quite simply, scale. Nissan sold 12,026 Leafs (or is it Leaves?) in the US in 2022, compared to 331 sold here. That's a market with 10 times our population buying 36-times the number of cars.

The electric market in the UK (as well as mainland Europe) sees typical passenger cars and SUVs joined by lighter, low-range, urban-centric vehicles, often categorised as quadricycles.

The most affordable electric car in the UK then, is the Citroen Ami (pictured above). Priced from £7695 ($AU14,000), the Ami is a tiny two-seater with a 5.5kWh battery and a top speed of 45km/h.

The next most affordable ‘car’ is a slightly larger 17.6kWh battery-powered Smart EQ (£22,225 as a two-door and £22,295 as a four-door), which is the equivalent of around $AU39,000, or about $7000 less than what we pay for an MG ZS EV or BYD Atto 3.

There are more quadricycles like the Citroen Ami available in Europe, with the Renault Twizy and Invicta D2S answering the affordable ultra-urban brief, but it’s the cheapest electric car that is of most interest.

At €20,800 ($AU32,300) the Dacia Spring offers a 26.8kWh battery (230km range) in a compact crossover-style hatchback. A bit smaller than a Kia Stonic, the Spring is low on frills but can be personalised with some cool colours and trim accessories.

The downside, it has a 33kW electric motor. For context, the diminutive Suzuki Ignis has exactly twice the output with a 66kW petrol engine.

Another market where micro ‘Kei’ cars are popular with urban drivers is Japan. Here, your most affordable path into a new EV is the micro-MPV Nissan Sakura.

Available in two trim grades, each with a 20kWh battery, the Sakura is priced from ¥2,399,100 ($AU25,800) and is a joint development with Mitsubishi which offers the eK X EV (the X is pronounced as a ‘cross’) for the same price.

If you thought the Citroen Ami wasn’t suited to Australian driving conditions, meet the next cut-price contenders in the micro-EV space…

The most affordable electric car in the biggest electric car market in the world is the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV. At ¥32,800 ($AU7000) it is certainly cheap, but with tiny 12-inch (record-sized) wheels, and a 9.2kWh battery, the Mini EV is very much a city runabout.

With 15kW, we'd argue some children's ride-on toys would give it a run for its money!

Being cheap has its benefits though, as this is also the top-selling EV in China.

For some more market context, in China the BYD Yuan Plus (Atto 3) starts from ¥139,800 ($AU29,800) which is about $15,000 less than the car is priced here.

Why so much cheaper? Once again, consider the volume; in Australia the Atto 3 (in low-volume right-hand-drive form) sells around 700 per month (based on an average of three months of sales) whereas in China it is moving at the rate of 19,100 per month (over the same period), or around 27 times more. The Chinese is also not as well equipped as the Australian model.

While India is expecting a range of electric models from local manufacturer Tata, the most affordable electric car at the moment is the MG ZS EV.

In the Excite spec, it is priced from ₹22.58m ($AU40,600) before on-road costs. This puts it about $5000 less than the price of the car in Australia.

It is worth noting that India is also a right-hand drive market.

Another market where ultra-compact EVs are making inroads is Indonesia.

Here the balancing act on pricing is one of taxation as cars are very expensive. For context, the most affordable 'regular' car is the Nissan Leaf and it is priced from IDR 728m, or around $AU68,700. That's a 25 per cent increase on the Australian price; ouch.

Germany: Volkswagen e-Up light hatchback – €29,995 ($AU46,500)

Thailand: Volt City EV microcar – THB 325,000 ($AU14,000)

South Africa: Mini Cooper SE hatch – R723k ($AU59,150)