Australia's cheapest electric cars over the past 10 years
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Half the price with double the range. Here’s how our EV choice has become cheaper and better value over time.
Electric cars have now been on sale in Australia for 15 years, and like all new technology products, each year has brought better features with lower costs.
Last week, BYD announced a $29,990 before on-road costs starting price for its compact Dolphin electric hatchback, marking the first time a new electric vehicle has dipped below the $30,000 barrier.
For this spend, the BYD Dolphin Essential offers 70kW of power and a 45kWh battery with a rated driving range of 340km. While those numbers seem quite conservative, they are a far cry from where we were a decade ago.
Technically the first electric vehicle offered to Australian buyers was a converted 2011 Hyundai Getz called the Blade Electron. The hatchback packed a 16kWh battery pack and offered a 40kW output against a 100km range.
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Considering the cheapest car in Australia at the time was a $11,790 Suzuki Alto, and a regular Hyundai Getz wasn't far off at $13,990, the $48,000 plus on-roads ask of the Electron didn't see many finding a home.
In 2011, a total of 49 electric vehicles were sold.
The first 'official' electric car was the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, which launched in 2011 but became the most affordable option at $48,800 in 2012.
The Nissan Leaf saw affordability step a little closer in 2013 when it arrived at $46,990 drive-away, with 75 per cent more range than the wacky Mitsubishi, a still paltry 175km.
Entry prices stepped up with the arrival of the ground-breaking BMW i3 in 2014, which saw $63,900 plus on-roads as the starting point of electric motoring until the Renault Zoe arrived at $47,490 in 2017.
Hyundai was the first to drop below $45,000, with the 2018 and 2019 Ioniq Elite yours with a 230km range for $44,990 before on-roads.
Even at this point, just five years ago, sales still couldn't top 3000 electric and plug-in-hybrid vehicles annually.
Things changes dramatically between 2020 and 2022, when the MG ZS EV electric SUV started at $44,990 drive away but then dropped to $38,990 plus on-road costs along with a range greater than 300km for the first time for the most affordable EV.
Pricing wars have heated up over the past two years, with the BYD Dolphin Dynamic then GWM Ora moving the entry price for electric motoring well below the $40,000 mark.
Special offers and discounts at the end of 2024 had the MG 4 Excite priced from $30,990 drive away, cheaper than the most affordable Toyota Corolla.
The $29,990 price of the entry-level BYD Dolphin for 2025 is less than half the entry price of an electric car ten years ago ($63,900 BMW i3), and while it has less overall power (70kW to 125kW), advances in battery technology offers drivers more than twice the range (160km vs 340km).
In terms of dollar-per-kilometer value, it cost $480 for every kilometre of the Blade Electron's range back in 2011, dropping to just $88 for the cut-price BYD.
That's a greater than 400 per cent increase in value over a decade.
The post Australia's cheapest electric cars over the past 10 years appeared first on Drive.
