The 10 Cheapest New EVs in America, Ranked by What You'll Actually Pay
Ten EVs land under $39,000 with destination and no federal credit to help. One is a limited run, one hasn't reached dealers, and one is nearly sold out.
The cheapest new electric car in America costs $28,995 with destination, and it is a Chevrolet. Below it, nothing. Above it, the field is tighter than it has been in years: three EVs land under $32,000, seven more sit between $36,000 and $39,000, and the gap between third place and tenth is about $7,100. What has not changed since last year is the missing $7,500. The federal EV purchase credit expired on September 30, 2025, so every number here is the price as written, with no rebate to subtract.
How this ranking works
We ranked by MSRP plus the destination charge, because that is the number on the window sticker and the one you finance. Prices are as of September 25, 2026, taken from the manufacturers' own pricing releases and consumer sites; where a brand has not published its destination charge, we say so in the table rather than guess. We ignored lease specials, dealer cash, and state incentives, all of which change monthly and by ZIP code. Range figures are EPA ratings unless marked as a manufacturer estimate.
One more rule: a car has to be orderable as a new vehicle in the current model year. That excludes leftover stock of models a brand has paused, which we cover separately at the end.
The 10 cheapest new EVs in America, ranked
| # | Model (trim) | MSRP | Destination | What you'll pay | Range | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2027 Chevrolet Bolt LT | $27,600 | $1,395 | $28,995 | 262 mi (EPA) | On sale |
| 2 | 2027 Kia EV3 Light FWD | $29,890 | $1,495 | $31,385 | 221 mi (EPA) | Arriving later this year |
| 3 | 2026 Nissan Leaf S+ | $29,990 | $1,575 | $31,565 | 303 mi (EPA) | On sale |
| 4 | 2027 Subaru Uncharted Premium FWD | $34,995 | $1,475 | $36,470 | 308 mi (Subaru est.) | Arriving fall 2026 |
| 5 | 2027 Toyota bZ XLE FWD | $34,980 | $1,595* | $36,575 | 236 mi (Toyota est.) | Arriving September |
| 6 | 2027 Chevrolet Equinox EV LT1 FWD | $34,995 | $1,800* | $36,795 | 319 mi (EPA) | On sale |
| 7 | 2027 Hyundai Ioniq 5 SE Standard Range | $35,250 | $1,650* | $36,900 | 245 mi (EPA) | On sale |
| 8 | 2026 Fiat 500e Pop | $35,700 | Not published | $35,700 + destination | 149 mi (EPA est.) | On sale |
| 9 | 2026 Tesla Model 3 Standard | $36,990 | $1,390 | $38,380 | 321 mi (EPA) | New stock nearly gone |
| 10 | 2027 Toyota C-HR SE | $37,080 | $1,595* | $38,675 | 287 mi (Toyota est.) | Arriving September |
*Destination charge not stated in the manufacturer's pricing release; figure from Electrek (Toyota), GM Authority (Chevrolet), and CarsDirect (Hyundai). Tesla prices via Edmunds; Tesla does not publish a press pricing sheet.
What the table doesn't tell you
The Bolt is cheap, and Chevrolet says it is temporary. The Bolt's own page answers the question "Is the Chevy Bolt discontinued?" with "back for a limited time." GM has not said how long that window runs or how many it will build at Fairfax Assembly in Kansas. The LT gives you 210 hp, a native NACS port, 150 kW fast charging, and a Tesla Supercharger plug without an adapter. The RS adds styling for $31,600 before destination, which would still put it fourth on this list.
The EV3 is second on paper and absent on the lot. Kia priced the 2027 EV3 on August 12 and started building it at its Pesquería plant in Mexico on August 4, but its only public timing for U.S. dealers is "later this year." The Light trim's 221 miles comes from a 58.3-kWh pack; the Wind and Land FWD trims stretch to 321 miles on the 81.4-kWh battery, but the cheapest of those is $34,990 before destination, which would drop it to fifth. We looked at the EV3's pricing against the Bolt and Leaf when it was named Green Car of the Year.
The Leaf is the range bargain, minus the trim that made headlines. The 2026 Leaf S+ pairs a 75-kWh pack, 303 miles, and 214 hp for $31,565 delivered, the best range-per-dollar figure in the top ten. The $25,360 Leaf S that Nissan announced for 2026 was cancelled in February, according to Electrek, so the S+ is the floor.
Positions four through seven are a $430 spread. Subaru's Uncharted Premium, Toyota's bZ XLE, Chevrolet's Equinox EV LT1, and Hyundai's Ioniq 5 SE Standard Range land between $36,470 and $36,900 delivered. Range decides it: the Equinox EV's 319 EPA miles and the Uncharted's 308 (Subaru's estimate, on the same 74.7-kWh pack as the bZ Plus models) beat the bZ XLE's 57.7-kWh, 236-mile base setup by a wide margin. The Ioniq 5 SE Standard Range is built in the United States, at Hyundai's Georgia Metaplant, and runs a 63-kWh pack with 168 hp; all four carry a NACS port.
The Fiat 500e is on the list by MSRP alone. Stellantis set the 2026 Pop at $35,700, which is $5,200 above last year's entry price, without publishing a destination charge in the release, and the car keeps a CCS1 port in a field that has otherwise moved to NACS. With 149 miles of range, it is the shortest-legged car here by more than 70 miles.
The Tesla on this list is one you probably cannot order. The Model 3 Standard's $36,990 MSRP still stands on Edmunds' listing, but as of mid-September Edmunds reports new 2026 inventory is "effectively gone," and Tesla has not published 2027 pricing. If the 2027 car comes in at the same figure, it stays ninth. If it rises by more than $295, the C-HR moves up.
The C-HR got $80 more expensive. Toyota carried the C-HR into the 2027 model year unchanged but lifted the SE to $37,080. Unlike the bZ XLE, it is dual-motor, 338 hp, and 74.7 kWh as standard, and Toyota's 4.9-second 0–60 mph estimate makes it the quickest car in the top ten on paper.
Just outside the top 10
- 2026 Ford Mustang Mach-E Select, $37,795 before destination. Ford does not include delivery in that figure, per Ford Authority; any destination charge above $880 puts it behind the C-HR.
- 2026 Kia Niro EV, from $39,700. Kia confirmed in March that the Niro EV is being discontinued globally, with the EV3 as the de facto replacement, so 2026 is the last model year.
- 2026 Tesla Model Y Standard, $39,990 plus $1,390. That is $41,380 delivered, and Edmunds reports new supply is effectively gone here too.
Missing from this list
Three cars that would have appeared here a year ago are not new-vehicle purchases right now. Hyundai skipped the 2026 Kona Electric entirely; hyundaiusa.com still lists only the 2025 SE at $32,975 with "contact dealer for availability," and production of a 2027 version was scheduled to restart in June, according to CarsDirect, with no pricing published yet. A leftover 2025 Kona Electric, if you find one, would technically slot in at third place. Nissan dropped the Ariya for the 2026 model year, as Automotive News reported. And Mini still has not brought the current electric Cooper to the United States, nearly two years after shelving the launch.
For a sense of how far this field sits from the global bottom, the Dacia Spring sells in Europe for far less than the Bolt; we ran the numbers on why it will never come here.
What we don't know yet
- When the Kia EV3 will actually reach U.S. showrooms. Kia has said only "later this year."
- What the 2027 Tesla Model 3 Standard will cost. Edmunds lists the 2027 model as upcoming with no official price.
- Destination charges for the bZ, C-HR, Equinox EV, Ioniq 5, and 500e from the brands themselves. Toyota, Hyundai, and Fiat did not put the fee in their pricing releases; Chevrolet's site does not itemize it. The figures above come from secondary sources and could shift by a few hundred dollars.
- 2027 Kona Electric pricing and a firm return date.
- What you will really pay at a dealer. Discounts on slow sellers and markups on scarce ones vary by region and by month; none of that is reflected here.
What's next
This page is revised monthly and whenever a price changes. The near-term triggers are the EV3's dealer arrival, Tesla's 2027 Model 3 and Model Y pricing, the return of the Kona Electric, and any new nameplate that lands under $40,000 delivered. A Chevrolet decision on how long the Bolt's "limited time" lasts would reorder the top of this list overnight.
