In recent times, there has been a lot of talk about the used EV market and how it’s developing in Australia. So, today I thought we take a look at some of the cheapest cars available on the market with a focus on what you can get under $10,000.
Doing a search on carsales, it reveals that four cars fall under that price point. Three of these are the iconic Mitsubishi i-MiEV. The cheapest of these is a 2011 model with 60,000 km on the clock. It’s located in regional Queensland, about 900 km north of Brisbane.
With a claimed 155 km of range, it was plenty to get around town when it was new. Nowadays, more realistically, it would get around 80 km of range, which was still plenty for running around town from its original 16 kWh battery pack.
The gauge behind the steering wheel shows 81 km of range which is plenty for running around town. As the seller describes it in the ad, it’s a “Good town car.”
Driven by a 47kW motor, it’s small but truly shows the reliability of electric cars. The 3,500 mm long mini hatchback also produces 180 Nm of torque.
According to the seller, this example comes with two keys, a charging cable and the owner describes the condition of the car as “Everything works.”
The 2011 car also comes with electric power steering, driver and passenger airbag.
Back in 2010, you could only lease them and this was my first experience behind the wheel of an EV. The lease in 2010 was $1,740 a month over a three-year term.
Last year, we observed another 2011 Mitsubishi i-MiEV up for sale. It was priced at a $17,990 driveaway with just a tad over 32,000 km. With that price tag, it was the only Mitsubishi i-MiEV for sale in Australia and one of the cheapest EVs in the country.
Fast-forward to 2023, similar cars with slightly higher kilometres on the clock are also selling for under $10,000.
There is also one 2012 Nissan Leaf on carsales that just scrapes under it. This example is also based in Queensland with around 108,550 km on it.
The prices of used electric cars are coming down quickly as more supply enters the market. With many more affordable new EV models just around the corner and rebates in states like Queensland at an all-time high, this trend will continue in the coming months.
Electric vehicle affordability is starting to improve and will help thousands of drivers consider an EV in the coming years over buying a used ICE vehicle.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.