Cheap Electric Cars

Cheap electric cars are hard to come by. Here is why.

First, it’s the batteries. Storage batteries are still expensive, around $900 per kWh for the newer Lithium type batteries. One gallon of gasoline has the energy equivalent of around 36kWh. So, to store the energy in one US gallon of gasoline in a modern battery pack will cost you $30,000 or so. This is why a new Nissan Leaf with a 24kWh battery pack runs close to $40,000 before incentives.

So, how can you find a cheap electric car when the batteries cost so much? There are a couple of ways.

Get an NEV. If you are not in a hurry, get yourself a used Neighborhood Electric Vehicle. Some of these little cars can move along up to 40 mph (64 kph) or so. You can own a 2007 Zenn for $5,300, a 2008 Zap Xebra for $4,500, or 2007 Flybo for $4,500.

The modern NEV can hit 35 mph and might have a range up to 50 miles (80km) or more. Some are a bit faster, some a bit slower and the range may vary. However, if you are in town where speed is not important, an NEV is a good solution. If you need more range and speed, check out the used electric cars.

Get a Used EV: Used electric cars that you can get in, turn the key, and go are going to cost you from around $7,500 up. This is a general figure, you may land a deal for less, bit it will in all likelihood require a new set of batteries. Keep in mind that at the price stated, your range will also certainly be in the neighborhood of from 20-40 miles. Again, you might get lucky and hit 60 miles, but that is a far stretch for the cheap EV.

Here is why: Battery type and weight. The old lead acid batteries are relatively cheap and easy to get, but they take up a lot of space and do not hold much energy. At the end of the day, 1,200 pounds of batteries might get you 30 miles down the road, depending on conditions. This range can be extended with driving techniques, proper tires and so on, but not by much in most cases.

Here’s an example battery pack:

– Battery Type: 24 – 12volt Trojan @ $125/ea = $3,000
– Pack weight = 24 x 62lbs = 1,488lbs Storage = 24 x 225AH = 5,400 AH
– Pack Storage = 225AH x 144volts = 32,256 Watts = 32.26 kWh
– This is close to 1 Gallon of Gasoline energy equivalent

Depending on the weight of the electric car, motor, controller, terrain, temperature and driving style, one gallon of gas in an older less efficient EV could get you say 40 miles. However, it will more likely get you less. This is the main reason people sell their conversions.

If you want a cheap electric car, try a NEV, or perhaps a used conversion. Be prepared to change out the batteries and work with range limitations.

Do your own conversion: This is probably the absolute cheapest way to obtain an electric car. However, several important notes:

1. You need some kind of shop, the tools, the skills, the time, and some luck to pull this off. While it is entirely possible, it is not for most people. Check out the web for the guys who converted a forklift to an EV for something like $900. There was actually more to it than that, but it is a rock bottom price.

2. You may end up with performance in between that of the NEV and the used electric vehicle just described. One thing about old donor parts is just that they are old. There is a reason they are deeply discounted. You may be able to extract certain efficiencies, bit it will require considerable effort.

There is a saying the Tappet Brothers on NPR (Saturday most places in the continental USA) have: “The cheap man pays the most” While this is not always true, we recommend that you approach the cheap EV with considerable research.