- The Nissan Leaf, Nissan Ariya, Hyundai Ioniq 6, Tesla Model 3, and Toyota bZ4X were the cheapest new EVs in America in Q1.
- Thanks to a combination of government and dealer incentives, consumers could buy these vehicles for less than $41,000.
- Falling new vehicle prices are pushing down used EV prices, making the technology cheaper for buyers, but more expensive for automakers.
Affordability has increasingly become a concern for shoppers curious about an electric vehicle, but there was some good news for them in the first quarter of 2024, as the five cheapest EVs on the market all came in at under $41,000. However, concerns remain about the sustainability of these prices.
The five most affordable EVs on the market in Q1 2024, from most to least expensive, were the Toyota bZ4X, the Tesla Model 3, the Hyundai Ioniq 6, the Nissan Ariya, and the Nissan Leaf. However, these vehicles relied heavily on discounts and incentives to reach such low prices, making them expensive for automakers.
Read: Global EV Sales Will Break Records In 2024 Despite Sluggish Demand, Say Energy Experts
Whereas the Toyota bZ4X had an average transaction price (before discounts and government tax breaks, where applicable) of $48,087 in Q1, the average amount it actually sold for (once all the buyer incentives were tallied up) was $40,647, per Autonews. Automakers are working to promote sales in order to up production and take advantage of economies of scale by lowering prices, but these cuts might not be sustainable, experts say.
And the Toyota wasn’t the only model available with big discounts. Nissan received the biggest price drop with the Ariya. The model’s average sales price ($35,556) fell 31 percent from its average transaction price ($51,438).
Top 5 Cheapest New EVs, Q1 2024
Tesla offered the smallest discounts to customers, as the Model 3’s average sale price of $40,547 was just 7 percent off its average transaction price of $43,649. However, the American automaker has been cutting prices aggressively this year.
As prices have fallen for new EVs, they have also decreased in the used segment, reports Cox Automotive. Between September 2022 and April 2024, the value of the average used EV has been slashed from $63,069 to just $33,645.
Today, second-hand electric vehicles are nearly at par with internal combustion vehicles, and on average cost just 1.05 times more. At their peak, used EVs cost 1.81 times as much as ICE-powered vehicles.
While prices for used EVs continue to fall faster than for the rest of the market, prices are down industry-wide. Wholesale values for the market fell 13.7 percent overall in April 2024, as compared to a year earlier, and are at their lowest point since January 2020.
