100% Electric Vehicles

Published on February 16th, 2014 | by Zachary Shahan

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Electric Cars 2014 — Prices, Efficiency, Range, Pics, More

Wondering what electric cars are on the market or soon will be? Wonder no more. I’m going to run down all of them in the article below, adding a few key details and commentary for each one (including prices, efficiency, range, and # of seats when such information is available).

I’m also doing something I don’t think I’ve seen anywhere else—I’m listing electric cars that are available both in the US and in Europe. Eventually, I may also add Japan and China. In the case of electric cars only available in Europe, I’ve tried to find the prices in euros and British pounds. In the case of electric cars that are available in the US, I’m only including the price in USD at the moment — if there is strong demand for other prices, I can add them. (All prices are before any tax credits or rebates.)

For stories referencing any of these vehicles, click on the model name in the subheading. Let me know if I’ve missed any cars, or if you have any missing information that you could share!

BMW i3 — $41,350 / €34,950 (Germany)

The BMW i3 is BMW’s first 100%-electric car built electric from the ground up. It is part of BMW’s “born electric” i series. It’s price puts it somewhat in the middle of the Nissan Leaf and the Tesla Model S. Despite looking a bit bulky, the BMW i3 is the lightest electric car on the market, thanks to its carbon fiber body. It’s a smooth & sweet drive. Read my full BMW i3 review here.

81–100 miles
4 seats
US & Europe

BMW i8 — $135,700 / €126,000 (Germany)

The BMW i8 is BMW’s second i-series car, but it isn’t 100% electric. It has about 30 miles of electric range before the gas engine kicks in. It’s an expensive car—actually, the most expensive on the mass market today.

81–100 miles
4 seats
US & Europe

Bolloré Bluecar — €12,000 + €80/mo battery (France)

The Bolloré Bluecar is a low-price, simple electric car produced and only available in France. It is used in the Autolib’ carsharing program in Paris, but is also available to retail customers. It was the 16th-best-selling electric car in Europe in 2013.

250 kilometers (155 miles)
4 seats
Europe

BYD e6 — $52,000

The BYD e6 electric car is on the market globally, but it is only available to fleet buyers in the US, and probably the same in other countries outside of China (where it is manufactured). It was the 2nd-best-selling electric car in China in 2013.

62 MPGe
200 kilometers (122 miles)
5 seats
Worldwide

Cadillac ELR — $75,000

The Cadillac is a high-end, luxury, plug-in hybrid electric car that just hit the market at the very end of 2013. In many respects, it is essentially a more luxurious Chevy Volt. It is pretty.

82 MPGe (battery) & 31 MPG (gas)
37 miles on battery (+ gas range)
4 seats
US

Chevy Spark EV — $27,495

The Chevy Spark EV is a low-priced 100%-electric car that has gotten good reviews but is only available in California and Oregon. It is reportedly quite perky on the acceleration. The Chevy Spark EV was the first car on the market that could use the SAE Combo Fast Charging system.

119 MPGe
82 miles
4 seats
US

Chevy Volt — $34,345

The Chevy Volt is one of the most widely acclaimed electric cars on the market. It is the top-selling electric car in the US to date. In 2013, it was the 2nd-best-selling electric car in the world. Volt owners are known as Voltheads.

98 MPGe (battery); 37 MPG (gas)
38 miles on battery (+ gas range)
4 seats
US & Canada

Citröen Berlingo Électrique — €26,220 (France) / £21,300 / 239,900 NOK

The Citröen Berlingo EV is a 100%-electric version of Citröen’s Berlingo vans. The electric van is available in several European countries. It is produced in France & is actually used by the French postal service.

171 kilometers (106 miles)
2 seats
Europe

Citröen C-Zero — €29,600 (France) / £21,216 / 233,900 NOK

The Citröen C-Zero is produced in France but it was developed in collaboration with Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (notice that it looks like the Mitsubishi i) and also shares the model with the Peugeot iOn.

 150 kilometers (93 miles)
4 seats
Europe

Fiat 500e — $31,800

The Fiat 500e has gotten great reviews. However, the head of Fiat apparently hates electric cars (I know, crazy) and is only producing the 500e in extremely limited quantities for the California market (because it has to in order to sell cars in California). Hopefully the cute electric car will someday soon be available to a broader market. With its relatively low price, good reviews, and cool styling, it could give some of the top-selling electric cars on the market a run for their market.

115 MPGe
87 miles
4 seats
US

Ford C-Max Energi — $31,635

One of two cars in Ford’s Energi (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) lineup, the Ford C-Max Energi has quite good specs for someone who doesn’t drive very far on most days but wants to take very long trips fairly regularly. It’s also good for larger families, as it seats up to 5 people. Despite seating 5, it is cheaper than the Chevy Volt. It is also the most efficient plug-in hybrid electric car on the market. As a result of all of this, the car has sold quite well. Despite only being available in the US, the C-Max Energi was the 8th-best-selling electric car in the world in 2013.

100 MPGe on battery; 43 MPG on gas
21 miles on battery (+ gas range)
5 seats
US

Ford Focus Electric — $29,170

The Ford Focus Electric, on the other hand, Ford’s only 100%-electric car, has not sold as well and seems to be much harder to get a hold of. It is priced considerably higher than the Nissan Leaf — which is widely available — making it quite a hard sell. Perhaps Ford will knock the price down a bit sometime soon.

105 MPGe
76 miles
5 seats
US

Ford Fusion Energi — $34,700

Quite similar to the Ford C-Max Energi but with a few more bells & whistles, the Ford Fusion Energi has also done quite well since its introduction in February 2013. Despite not being on the market for over a month, and only being on the US market, the Fusion Energi was the 9th-best-selling electric car in the world in 2013. Not too shabby. The Ford Fusion Energi certainly offers some competition to the Chevy Volt, the Toyota Prius Plug-in, and its sister, the C-Max Energi. It is It is larger than all three of these competitors. It has a bit less electric range than the Volt, but it has enough seats for five passengers. (It has much more electric range than the Prius, and the same as the C-Max Energi — both of which seat 5.) And it is quite the looker.

100 MPGe on battery; 43 MPG on gas
21 miles on battery (+ gas range)
5 seats
US

Goupil G3 —  €17,000 (France) / £13,500

The Goupil G3 is a 100%-electric utility vehicle designed for services like garbage disposal, construction site support, leaf collection, park maintenance, etc. It is produced and primarily sold in France. The Goupil G3 came in #18 in European EV sales in 2013.

73 miles
Europe

Honda Accord PHEV — $39,780

Coming in a bit higher than the Chevy Volt, Toyota Prius Plug-in, or even Ford Fusion Energi might have hurt the Honda Accord Plug-in’s sales. However, limited availability has likely had a stronger impact on those sales. Furthermore, having just 13 miles of electric range doesn’t particularly excite would-be electric car buyers. The good news is that the Accord Plug-in is very efficient when using the electric motor.

115 MPGe on battery; 46 MPG on gas
13 miles on battery (+ gas range)
5 seats
US

Honda FCX Clarity — $600/mo (lease only)

The Honda FCX Clarity is actually a fuel-cell electric vehicle. It is available in very limited quantities and is only available to lease, but it is on the market on 3 continents. In the US, the Honda FCX Clarity is only available in Southern California, as that’s the only region with hydrogen refueling stations. Despite being fueled by hydrogen (which I think is a losing game), the FCX Clarity is a beautiful car.

60 miles/kilogram of hydrogen (~60 MPG of gas)
240 miles
5 seats
US, Europe, Japan

Honda Fit EV — $259/mo (lease only)

Equivalent to costing $36,625, the Honda Fit EV is only available for lease. Furthermore, it can only be found in a few markets and is essentially another “compliance car.” On the plus side, the Honda Fit EV is only under the Chevy Spark EV (and only by 1 MPGe) in terms of energy efficiency. Would be nice if Honda actually tried to sell this car.

118 MPGe
82 miles
5 seats
US

Kia Soul EV — $33,700

The Kia Soul EV comes to the US this year, and will also be available in its home country of South Korea.

105 MPGe
93 miles
5 seats
US & Korea to start, eventually worldwide

Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric — $41,450

Also coming this year, the Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric looks like a very nice electric car, and is a first-offering from Mercedes in this department. Waiting to learn more. The car will be available in Germany this year, and perhaps other European markets and the US as well.

 ~200 kilometers / 120 miles in Europe, ~84 miles in US
5 seats
Europe in 2014, possibly US as well

Mia Electric Mia — €12,255 (France) / 159,900 NOK

The Mia Electric Mia (Mia Electric is the company name) is built in France by a French company, but “staff include former VW design boss Murat Gunak and ex-Bertone design chief David Wilkie.” It looks like a cute and very useful EV for last-mile deliveries and related services. It could also be a fun commuter car to own… for quirky people like me at least. The EV came in #20 in European EV sales in 2013.

80–130 kilometers / 50–81 miles
3 seats
Europe

Mia Electric Mia L — €12,781 (France) / 165,900 NOK

This version of the Mia has 4 seats rather than 3 and is a bit longer.

80–130 kilometers (50–81 miles)
4 seats
Europe

Mia Electric Mia U — €11,730 (France) / £21,995 / 153,900 NOK

The Mia Electric U removes all but the driver seat and is essentially useful as a delivery van.

80–130 kilometers (50–81 miles)
1 seat
Europe

Mitsubishi i — $22,995

The Mitsubishi i (aka Mitsubishi i-MiEV) has long suffered from a relatively high price for its specs. However, it was announced at the beginning of 2014 that a price drop of ~$6,000 would be coming this year with the 2014 model (updated price is above). This will likely make it a genuine contender on the EV market again. As noted above, the Citröen C-Zero, Peugeot iOn, and Mitsubishi i all have essentially the same design.

112 MPGe
62 miles
4 seats
US

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV — €33,050 (Netherlands) / 440,800 NOK

The Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in is a hot new plug-in hybrid electric SUV that has been selling very well in its home country of Japan and initial European markets. It was initially supposed to make it to the US market in 2014, but due to manufacturing delays, the target is now 2015. Despite just hitting the market in the second half of 2013, the Outlander PHEV was the 5th-best-selling electric car in the world in 2013. Furthermore, it arrived in Europe at the end of the year, and it ranked #3 there, only behind the Nissan Leaf & Renault Zoe.

In the Netherlands, where Outlander PHEVs flooded the market at the end of the year due to expiring government incentives, prices range from €33,050 ($45,300) to €42,967 ($58,900) before VAT. In Norway, they range from 440,800 kroners ($72,600) to 465,800 kroners ($76,700). In its home country of Japan, the Outlander PHEV starts at 3,397,500 yen ($33,350) and goes up to 4,370,500 yen ($42,900) — 5 different options are available there.

30 miles on battery (+ gas range)
5 seats
Japan & Europe

Nissan e-NV200 — Price TBA

Nissan’s first all-electric van is supposed to be hitting markets this year. Field trials have been in place in Europe, the US, and Japan. The Nissan e-NV200 is being produced in Barcelona, Spain.

70 miles
5 seats
Japan in 2014, possibly US & Europe

Nissan Leaf — $29,010

The Nissan Leaf is seemingly the most competitive electric car on the market. It is the world’s best-selling electric car, and sales have only been increasing (thanks to falling prices). After test driving several EVs myself, I have to say that it would be hard to beat the Nissan Leaf for my money… unless I had enough money to dump on a higher-end EV, like the Tesla Model S or BMW i3. Read my full Nissan Leaf review here.

114 MPGe
84 miles
5 seats
Worldwide

Opel Ampera — €38,300 (Germany) / £33,750 / 349,900 NOK

The Opel Ampera is the European sister of the Chevy Volt. With a higher price, it hasn’t sold as well in Europe as the Volt has in the US.

74 MPGe (IMP)
52 miles (NEDC)
4 seats
Europe

Peugeot iOn — €29,600 (France) / £21,216 / 177,800 NOK

Essentially the same as the Citröen C-Zero and Mitsubishi i. Actually, doing a Google search for the Peugeot iOn price in the US, Google shows me the Mitsubishi i and its price. (Smart, Google is.) With sales a little below its twin, the Citröen C-Zero, and the Bolloré Bluecar, the Peugeot iOn was the 17th-best-selling electric car in Europe in 2013.

150 kilometers (93 miles)
4 seats
Europe

Peugeot Partner EV — €26,220 (France) / £21,300 / 241,000 NOK

The Peugeot Partner EV is the same as the Citröen Berlingo EV. The electric van is produced in France but is available in several European countries.

171 kilometers (106 miles)
2 seats
Europe

Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid — $99,000

The Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid is a plug-in hybrid electric sports car that is everything you’d expect — awesome.

~53 MPGe (EPA range TBA)
22 miles on battery (+ gas range)
US & Europe

Renault Kangoo ZE — €20,450 (France) / £20,517

The Renault Kangoo ZE, Renault’s electric van, is doing quite well. It was the 5th-best-selling plug-in in Europe in 2013, and the 10th-best in the world. Furthermore, in its home country of France, the Kangoo ZE represented about “12% of all Kangoo light commercial vehicles sales.”

170 kilometers (110 miles)
Available in 2 lengths & 4 versions. 2-seat and 5-seat options.
Europe

Renault Twizy — €7,240 (France) / £6,895

The Renault Twizy is a cute and fun little two-seater that comes in at a super affordable price. With just two seats, it’s clearly not a “family car,” but it is a ton of fun to drive and very adequate for most driving needs. Despite (or because of) its small size, the Twizy was the 10th-best-selling electric car in Europe and 15th-best-selling electric car in the world in 2013. I’d recommend it. Read my full Twizy review here.

50 miles
2 seats
Europe (& reportedly US on eBay)

Renault Zoe — €20,900 (France) / £13,995

If I were on the market for a car, the Renault Zoe would certainly be in the running. It’s a good-looking, 100%-electric, super-affordable car with great reviews. It’s about the same price in France, its home country, as the Nissan Leaf is in the US, and just a little more than the base Leaf costs in France (€18,090). Basically, the choice comes down to basic personal preferences.

Only behind the Leaf, the Zoe was the 2nd-best-selling electric car in Europe in 2013. Despite only being available in Europe, it was the 6th-best-selling electric car in the world in 2013 — the highest-ranking car to be available on only one continent.

169 MPGe
210 kilometers (130 miles)
5 seats
Europe

smart electric drive — $25,000 (or $19,990 + $80/Month Battery Rental)

The smart electric drive could be the cheapest electric car on the US market… if you don’t own or lease it for very long. However, due to an $80/month battery rental, the price rises to about the same as a 2014 Mitsubishi i within 3 years (note that the Mitsubishi i seats 4, while the smart electric drive seats two). Within about 6 years, the smart electric drive is about the same price as a 5-seat and much more plush Nissan Leaf. In my personal opinion, the smart electric drive is a hard sell — unless you really want a tiny car or only want it for 2 to 3 years.

107 MPGe
68 miles
US & Europe

Tesla Model S — $71,070

The Tesla Model S is widely regarded as not just the best electric car on the market, but the best car of any type on the mass market. So, for many people, if they can afford a $70,000 car, the Model S is as good as it gets.

This car has flipped the electric car and overall auto world on its head in many respects. It is a top-selling luxury/performance car of any type, and it was the 2nd- or 3rd-best-selling electric car worldwide in 2013, despite its high price tag. All the while, it was production-limited rather than demand-limited. (Though, to be fair, so was just about every other electric car on the market.)

95 MPGe
208 miles
5 seats
US & Europe (& soon China)

Tesla Model X — ~$60,000

Tesla’s next model is the ridiculously cool and highly desired Model X, a crossover/SUV with similar performance and specs as the Model S. As Elon Musk has said, the choice between the Model X and Model S is really just whether or not you want an SUV/crossover or a sedan.

The Model X is especially special for combining excellent performance, great utility, and hot styling. Not many vehicles can do that. Its signature feature? Its falcon-wing doors.

5 seats.
Reservations available in US & Europe.

Toyota Prius PHEV — $29,990

This is the other vehicle that was either the 2nd- or 3rd-best-selling electric car worldwide in 2013. It’s quite different from the Model S, however. Its electric range is just 11 miles, then the gas engine kicks in. The Prius PHEV is most likely aided by the strong, high-selling Prius brand. It mainly competes with the Chevy Volt, Ford C-Max Energi, and Ford Fusion Energi, but it has more seats than the Volt and is almost $10,000 cheaper than the Fusion Energi. So, its closest competitor is probably the Ford C-Max Energi. This seems to be a good place in the EV spectrum, as both cars have been doing quite well. Of course, the C-Max Energi has 10 more miles of electric range, almost double the Prius PHEV’s 11 miles.

95 MPGe on battery; 50 MPG on gas
11 miles on battery (+ gas range)
5 seats
US, Europe, & Japan

Toyota RAV4 EV — $49,800

This small SUV is unfortunately only available in California. It uses Tesla technology and seems to make owners happy (or, at least, happy with their vehicle). Due to its limited availability, however, it doesn’t make it into many garages.

76 MPGe
103 miles
5 seats
US

Via Motors VTRUX SUV, Truck, & Van — $79,000

Moving on from GM after “retirement,” auto-world legend Bob Lutz is on the board and the key face of Via Motors. At GM, he led the development of the Chevy Volt, but since then has said that they should have started with a truck or SUV. Clearly, that’s what he’s now doing at pioneering Via Motors, which offers a plug-in hybrid electric truck, SUV, and van. Primarily available for fleets at the moment, this VTRUX lineup (or at least the truck) may be available to retail customers in the US in 2014.

See Via Motors site for details.

Volvo C30 Electric — Price ??

The Volvo C30 Electric is a hot electric car that is only available in small quantities in Sweden. Many of us are hoping it will bust out of that limited market soon. Deliveries of a limited 250 vehicles started for fleets in 2010.

150 kilometers / 93 miles
Sweden

Volvo V60 PHEV — €63,995 (Netherlands) / £40,558 (or £48,670 after VAT) / 617,300 NOK / 446,004 DKK

The Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid is a diesel hybrid that has excited many an EV journalist and blogger. It’s a sweet plug-in hybrid with class and comfort. But, really, it’s more than that. From the British brochure for the Volvo V60 PHEV: “The Volvo V60 D6 AWD Plug-in Hybrid is like nothing you’ve ever experienced. It’s the world’s first and only luxury diesel hybrid that also runs on pure electricity. It’s a car born from Volvo’s vision of a sustainable future and increasingly efficient cars. And it’s a dream realised – a pioneering, engineering revolution that gives you three different ways to drive in one extraordinary car.” The car can go from 0–60 mph in under 6 seconds.

Of course, it also comes with a hefty price in the European countries where it’s available. Naturally, the prices vary a lot from country to country, so I’ve included prices for several different countries. Despite its high price, the Volvo V60 was the 4th-best-selling electric car in Europe in 2013, and the 6th-best-selling electric car in the world.

31 miles on battery (+ diesel range)
155 MPG in hybrid mode
5 seats
Europe

VW e-Golf — $35,445 (USA) / €34,900 (Germany)

The Volkswagen e-Golf will be VW’s second electric car, following close behind the VW e-Up! that was just released. Clearly, it’s an electric version of VW’s popular Golf model. The e-Golf is now the closest competitor to the world-leading Nissan LEAF, so it could potentially see very big sales numbers.

70–90 miles (EPA range TBA)
5 seats
Europe (US in late 2014)

VW e-Up! — €26,900 (Germany) / £19,250

The VW e-up! could also be a sales contender. It is an affordable, rather simple electric car but also has some unique braking flexibility and is an adequately comfortable and modern car. In January, the e-Up! was the 2nd-best-selling electric car in Norway (only behind the Nissan Leaf), 3rd in Denmark (behind the Leaf & Model S), and 2nd in Sweden (behind the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV). In other words, it’s off to a pretty good start! Read my full VW e-Up! review here.

130 kilometers / 81 miles
5 seats
Europe

VW XL1 — €111,000 (Germany)

Well, the Volkswagen XL1 isn’t on the mass market, but I’m including it. 250 are to be on the market this year — despite demand, VW has said that it won’t consider producing more. The XL1 is reportedly the world’s most fuel-efficient car. It’s another diesel-electric plug-in hybrid.

~250 MPG
50 kilometers
2 seats
Europe

Wheego LiFE — $32,995

The Wheego Whip and Wheego LiFe are not rated by the EPA, so we don’t really know how they fare in fuel economy. Actually, we don’t know much about the cars. But they are quite cheap, small, simple, and surely very energy efficient. The LiFE has a bigger battery and, thus, more range than the Whip. It’s also quite expensive for only having 2 seats and not coming from a well known brand.

100 miles
2 seats
US & Cayman Islands

Wheego Whip — $18,995

The Wheego Whip and Wheego LiFe are not rated by the EPA, so we don’t really know how they fare in fuel economy. Actually, we don’t know much about the cars. But they are quite cheap, small, simple, and surely very energy efficient. The Whip has a smaller battery than the LiFE. It is one of the cheapest electric cars on the market.

40 miles
2 seats
US & Cayman Islands

For a bunch of videos on many of these EVs, check out: 28 Electrified Vehicles, 47 Electrified Vehicle Videos (Commercials, Reviews, Etc.)

For monthly and yearly sales reports by country, see: EV Obsession sales reports.

Again, see something missing here? Drop us a note.

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Zachary Shahan

About the Author

Zach is the director of CleanTechnica, the most popular cleantech-focused website in the world, and Planetsave, a world-leading green and science news site. He has been covering green news of various sorts since 2008, and he has been especially focused on solar energy, electric vehicles, and wind energy since 2009. Aside from his work on CleanTechnica and Planetsave, he's the founder and director of Solar Love, EV Obsession, and Bikocity. To connect with Zach on some of your favorite social networks, go to ZacharyShahan.com and click on the relevant buttons.

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