The biggest boost to the electric car market in the past year has come not from the availability of new models but from used ones. Recently released figures reveal a 45.7 per cent rise in used electric car sales in the UK in 2025, reaching a record 274,815 transactions. You can spend as little as £1,500 on a second-hand electric runabout, if you’re looking for, say, a station car or starter car. Even upmarket models such as the Tesla Model 3 are available for a third of their original price. We’ve selected some of the best bargains on sale now.
Nissan Leaf
From £1,500
3.0-4.0 miles per kWh
You’ve seen battered station cars in railway car parks, whose sole purpose is to ply back and forth come rain or shine. They can be any model as long as it’s cheap. Enter the Nissan Leaf, one of the first electric cars to go on sale in the UK. Its technology is now so dated that prices have collapsed — but someone else’s depreciation is your discount. Plus, if you have to leave it in the station overnight, at least no one will bother to steal it.
Skoda Citigo-e
From £2,000
3.7-4.9 miles per kWh
If you’ve ever been on the dodgems and thought it would be fun to zoom one out of the fairground, that’s the Citigo-e. Unlike many small cars, which are so underpowered you have to rev them like a leaf blower, it has no irritating engine noise, just a dodgem-like whine when you accelerate. Launched in 2020, it’s now a second-hand bargain. The higher-spec version has a range of up to 170 miles and can be topped up to 80 per cent capacity in about an hour from a rapid charger.
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Tesla Model 3
From £16,000
4.4-5.0 miles per kWh
Teslas have gone from chic to cheap within a decade and were the world’s bestselling cars in 2023 and 2024. To seize even more of the EV market, the company now has a network of UK refurbishment centres that resell the Model S, 3, X and Y. Experts say EVs have fewer moving parts than petrol-powered vehicles, meaning less can go wrong. Plus Tesla provides a battery warranty. Nevertheless, take a test drive to check battery life.
Mini Cooper Electric
From £13,400
4.2-4.5 miles per kWh
If ever there was a car suited to electrification, it’s the Mini. After years of putting on weight and girth in the care of its overindulgent BMW parent, it has got its mojo back at last. Instant torque from the electric motor means it will beat a Ferrari Testarossa away from the lights. Like other compact electric cars, its forte is trips around town, which it tackles with puppyish enthusiasm, and short commutes. It will squeeze into parking spaces and nip into gaps in traffic. Steve McQueen raced Minis on the streets of LA in the 1960s. Were he alive today, he would almost certainly switch to electric — it’s quicker and cheaper to run than even the fuel-sipping original.
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BMW i3
From £7,000
4.1-4.2 miles per kWh
Just 180 people in Britain bought the i3 when it launched in 2013. It was derided as a car for bohemians and BMW stopped making it in 2022. Now it’s the owners’ turn to laugh because the i3 has become a cult classic and held its value against a general trend of EV depreciation. The secret lies in its minuscule carbon footprint: the i3’s body is carbon fibre, seats are made from recycled bottles, door panels and dashboard from Deccan hemp. Our pick is the 2018 longer-range model.
Abarth 500e
From £21,000
3.4-3.6 miles per kWh
Back in 1949 Carlo Abarth started an Italian parts company that offered a range of accessories for the original Fiat 500. Such was the demand that he branched out into making tuned-up versions of the 500. His first model boasted a giddy 26bhp, twice the power of the basic car. Eventually Fiat bought his company and both are now part of the Stellantis group. Cars bearing the Abarth emblem are still a hoot to drive, including electric ones like this. The Abarth 500e delivers 153bhp — 33bhp more than the standard Fiat 500e on which it’s based, and an extra 11 lb ft of torque, which makes it perfect for zipping down side streets and turning on a lira. And it comes in a dazzling range of neons to brighten up those monochrome queues of Monday morning traffic.
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Ford Capri
From £26,000
3.8-4.5 miles per kWh
The original Capris were low-slung, petrol-powered, sporty coupés. By contrast, the new version is a high-riding BEV. Even Ford admits it’s milking the name. The electric Capri uses Volkswagen “architecture”, which means that the car’s battery and underlying mechanicals are made by the German auto giant. It’s well engineered with an official range of up to 390 miles. But really, it’s a Volkswagen ID.5 with a buffed-up suit and a superior infotainment system.
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