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What criteria will help you choose your first electric car?
Depending on the criteria you use to make your choice, one of the most important will be your budget.
It will be useful for you to know that a environmental bonus will be awarded to you for the purchase of an electric vehicle with a carbon dioxide emission rate of 0 g/km, for both private individuals and companies:
If you are an individual :
| Type of vehicle | Amounts of aid for individuals | |
|---|---|---|
| Car | less than €47,000 | 6 000 € |
| between €47,000 and €60,000 | 2 000 € | |
| more than €60,000 (hydrogen vehicles) | 2 000 € | |
| Van | 7 000 € | |
| Plug-in hybrid vehicle under €50,000 with a autonomy over 50 km | 1 000 € | |
If you are a company :
| Type of vehicle | Companies | |
|---|---|---|
| Car | less than €47,000 | 4 000 € |
| between €47,000 and €60,000 | 2 000 € | |
| more than €60,000 (hydrogen vehicles) | 2 000 € | |
| Van | 5 000 € | |
| New plug-in hybrid vehicle costing less than €50,000 with a range of more than 50 km | 1 000 € | |
If you'd like to find out more about the support available, take a look at this dossier we've put together: Help with buying an electric car.
Other criteria obviously come into play, such as how you are going to use it:
- Do you regularly travel long distances?
- Do you need to carry passengers often? Children or other.
- Are you planning to travel by car?
Depending on your answers, we'll move towards different models:
- With varying degrees of autonomy
- 2-seater models
- More or less spacious 5-seater models
- Luxury models
Now that we've put together our selection criteria, we can get to the heart of the matter: how do you choose your first electric car?
Buying your first electric car on a budget
If you're a student, or simply don't want to spend a fortune on your first electric car, we've got you covered! You don't always have to pay a fortune for an electric car.
There are a whole host of models to suit smaller budgets, starting with licence-free models.
The Citroën Ami
In this category, the Citroën AMI is virtually unbeatable. Quite simply, it's the cheapest licence-free electric car on the market, yet the quality of the product is still inferior to that of its competitors. The Citroën Ami is perfectly suited to city life and city use. With its 70 km range, the Citroën AMI will accompany you on all your journeys around town. It takes just 3 hours to recharge on a slow charge. It's no less comfortable, and you'll feel right at home in it, even if you're a big man. On the other hand, it's inevitably more minimalist, which is necessary to compensate for its low purchase price. You can find it at a list price of €6,900, excluding the environmental bonus.
If you want a more detailed test, I refer you to our test sheet right here → The Citroën Ami test.
The Dacia Spring
When it comes to 5-door cars, it's hard to beat the price of the Dacia Spring.
In fact, it is the only electric car to cost less than €20,000 (excluding the environmental bonus). It offers a more 'traditional' use of the electric car at a very affordable price.
It has an autonomy of battery with a range of up to 270 kilometres, suitable for journeys in and around major cities. It's perfect for everyday journeys. Because it has a greater range than the Citroën Ami, the Dacia Spring It therefore takes longer to recharge, taking around 4.5 hours to fully recharge at low speed, and 56 minutes at high speed. With its mini SUV look, the Dacia Spring is quite spacious at 1.62 m wide, 1.52 m high and 3.73 m long. The boot has a capacity of 290 litres, which can be doubled to 600 litres when the rear seats are folded down. The rear bench, however, forms a single unit, so either all the seats are folded down or none of them are.
All in all, the Dacia Spring is a model that perfectly fulfils the role of the first electric car, capable of taking you everywhere, all the time, at a lower cost.
For more information on the Dacia Spring, take a look at the Dacia Spring test drive: Dacia Spring test drive: is the cheapest electric car on the market worth the money?
As well as the technical data sheet: Technical file for the Dacia Spring
To find out more: The cheapest electric cars on the market
First electric car: the best value for money
Let's focus on the most versatile solutions: elegant, economical, affordable, comfortable, and so on... these are the solutions that make the difference. electric cars are real all-rounders.
For your first electric car, these models guarantee optimum comfort whatever you use them for.
The Hyundai Ioniq Electric
How can I begin this section without mentioning theHyundai Ionic Electric.
With its sleek, sober styling, 300-kilometre range, not to mention the fact that it's the most efficient car on the market, theHyundai Ionic Electric has some serious arguments in its favour.
Available at a price of 38,550 euros (excluding environmental bonus), the Hyundai Ioniq Electric offers Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, so you can connect your smartphones to the car and manage music, phone and navigation functions directly on-screen. The Ioniq also features an induction charging system.
For more information about the Hyundai Ionic Electric → our technical data
The Tesla Model 3
Another model just as satisfying in terms of its versatility, the cheapest Tesla (€49,990 excluding environmental bonus) also has plenty of arguments to put on the table. The saloon from Tesla offers very elegant styling thanks to its colour and satin black finish on the door handles and mirror bases. It is also available in pearlescent white. The Tesla Model 3 offers a total storage volume of 542 litres, broken down as follows:
- 425 litres of boot space
- 70 litres of underfloor storage
- 50 litres under the front bonnet
It recharges in 5 hours 15 minutes at low speed and only 20 minutes at high speed.
Take a look at our Tesla Model 3 specification sheet below:
To find out more: electric cars with the best value for money.
Why not treat yourself to your first electric car?
To round off this article in style, let's take a look at some top-of-the-range cars. Be warned, you risk burning your retinas.
The BMW IX3
I present to you BMW IX3the first 100 % electric SUV from the German brand BMW.
Similar in appearance to the BMW X3 (logical, you might say), this model nevertheless stands out thanks to its finish. This model offers a range of 460 kilometres, which will enable its owner to make all the journeys required. On the other hand, to fully recharge the car in slow charge mode, you're going to have to get up early, you've been warned! With this recharging mode, the vehicle is fully recharged in 12 hours and 6 minutes. To make up for this, you can always use fast charging, which will recharge the car in just 20 minutes.
Obviously the BMW IX3 is not cheap, and is available from €69,950.
The Mercedes EQC
I'm listing it here for a reason. The Mercedes EQC fully embraces its status as a luxury electric car. It's designed to let you drive in total comfort.
As you can see from its design, it is discreet and elegant, which goes well with its electric motors and soundproofing that will give you the impression of driving in a bubble. It has 2 motors developing up to 300 kWh, giving it rapid acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.1 seconds and a top speed of 180 km/h.
It boasts an impressive boot volume of 505 litres, enough to carry all the family's luggage when you go on holiday.
La Mercedes EQC is capable of a range of up to 414 km, with an average consumption of 22.2 kWh per 100 km.
What about the price?
The Mercedes EQC starts at €82,599.
Find out more about the Mercedes EQC : Technical Specifications of the Mercedes EQC
To find out more: Top 7 luxury electric cars
What happens next?
We hope this article has helped as many of you as possible. But you should know that buying your first electric car is not the end of the story! In fact, as with a combustion engine car, there are a number of steps involved in the purchase of your first electric vehicle, such as the charging point to be installed at your home and the charging cable that goes with it.
But once again, don't panic. That's where we come in!
Once you've made your choice, it's time to let us take care of the rest! That's right, Beev is the platform that centralises all the steps involved in buying an electric vehicle. We'll help you find the best deal on financing and recharging, free of charge and in complete transparency.
Don't hesitate to read our previous articles:
→ Airbnb sets up a charging point filter for electric vehicles
→ Company charging points: what are the obligations and what support is there for installing them?
→ 100,000 terminals target: where do we stand?
For further information, please contact our experts.
