David NicholsonNew Electric vans have a reputation for being expensive… but they don’t have to be. In fact some are cheaper to buy than the petrol or diesel RRP. There are some phenomenal deals to be had from dealer stock on brand new vans and some that have been pre-registered. Here we are going to introduce you to 2 ways you can use the Autotrader website (usually better known for finding used vehicles) to find discounts on brand new and nearly new electric vans preregistered electric vans.
1 Stand out deals listing
Based on late June 2024 survey
The deals we list are generally
- EV’s with a mileage of 100 miles or under (mostly under 20 miles). Occasionally dealers will make an error on something like mileage that will place a car wrongly in a search so always read any advert thoroughly and check again when you buy.
- Some are unregistered and new. Most cars have been preregistered by a dealer or carmaker so the advert will describe having one previous owner. Sometimes they may include showroom cars.
- Pre-registered cars should have minimal mileage but may have been sitting around for many months. We include EV’s pre-registered in 2022 or later for now.
- The registration date should be stated in the “description” text. It is worth checking the effect on warranty as these typically start from the date of first registration.
- Many of the cars are on last years model, not 2024.
- Many vans are badged by several manufacturers so we advise you check the equivalents from other brands to get the best deal.
- Where the manufacturers name has a link this should open up the deals on autotrader for that brand but autotrader links may change in which case you will have to follow part 2!
Stand out deals!
These are not recommendations, we are not van experts. What we are highlighting is some well priced EV’s. You will need to check reviews (youtube is good for this) to decide if a particular van suits your purposes. Prices we found for vans are ex VAT and all are 100% electric. Worth noting some “savings” include the UK Government grant of £5k or more for larger models.
Under £10k – Local delivery van
- DFSK EC35 39kWh 62 Auto SWB 5dr from £9,917
This incredible price gets you a fairly well equipped small panel van with a payload of 1,015 kg and a cargo capacity of 4.8m3. Will it get you from London to Birmingham and back with ease? No. Official range is 100 miles and according to Autotrader an 80% charge will take an hour. Local delivery van though? Could be a real bargain and spec is decent.
Under £20k – Choice really hots up here with some EV versions of mainstream models
- Vauxhall Combo-e 2300 50kWh Dynamic Panel Van 5dr Electric Auto L1 H1
3 listed under £20k
Well known model with decent charge speed of 100kW giving a 10-80% charge in 36 mins with official range around 170 miles.
Also check Citroen Peugeot and Fiat equivalents - Vauxhall Vivaro-e 3100 75kWh Dynamic Panel Van 6dr Electric Auto L1 H1
2 listed under £20k and a further 9 for under £25k discounted from £46k list!
Cheapest diesel RRP is £35k
Amazing value for this excellent 75kWh van with a range of 194 miles and 10-80% charging in just 45 mins. Bearing in mind 2 of the 75kWh vans were cheaper than than the best price we found on a 50kWh battery version with 141 mile range and 30 min 10-80% charge time.
Also check Citroen Peugeot and Fiat equivalents - Nissan Townstar L1 Electric 90kW Acenta Van Auto 45kWh
More than 20 EV versions listed for under £20k
Cheapest petrol RRP is £21,175
A popular smart modern smaller van with 177 mile range. Make sure your one has the 80kW DC charging (around 37 mins for 15-80%) There is a rare base model with only slow AC charging in 5 hours that you should avoid! Offers shown all have DC charging.
Video review Chorley Group
Also check Renault and Mercedes equivalents - Renault Kangoo e-tech
8 listed for under £20k
Basically the Kangoo e-tech is much the same as the Nissan Townstar and Mercedes e-Citan with a few minor differences.. like no centre armrest in the Renault. Always check it comes with the 80kW DC changing.
Written review – Fleetnews
Also check Nissan and Mercedes equivalents - Citroen
- E-berlingo 800 50kWh Enterprise Edition M Panel Van 5dr Electric Auto SWB
Around 20 EV versions listed for under £20k starting at £15,995!
Sibling to the Vauxhall Combo-e but with better availability for discounts. - E Dispatch E 1000 75 Kwh Enterprise Edition M Panel Van 6dr Electric Auto Mwb
3 listed for under £25k, all with the larger 75kWh motor which retails at over £42k!
Also check Vauxhall Peugeot and Fiat equivalents - BYD
- ETP3 44.9kWh Auto MWB 5dr
Only 2 listed, both brand new under £17,500. RRP around £25k
Had no idea BYD sold vans in UK! Charging appears slowish at 50kW but claims 20% to 80% in 30 mins. Not seen reviews yet.
Under £30k
- Mercedes Benz
big discounts here but mainly because their Electric vans are a bit average and overpriced. - e-Sprinter single ex demo under £20k – big van tiny range
- e-Citan starts at under £22k after a £13k discount but it’s sister vehicle the Nissan Townstar is almost identical and available for much less
Also check Renault and Nissan equivalents - e-Vito – with list prices of £45k-48k Mercedes have had trouble shifting these so there are 3 under £25k and many many more are under £30k. Worth a look as newer models have around 160 miles range and can charge to 80% in 35 mins.
Peugeot - E-partner 800 50kWh Professional Premium + Standard Panel Van 5dr Electric Auto SWB
We found 1 under £20k (£16,995) and 4 under £24k
Check Vauxhall Citroen Peugeot Fiat and Toyota equivalents - Expert 1000 100kW 50kWh Professional Premium + Van Auto
we found 8 list at £25k or under and many were brand new so should get full warranty
Check Vauxhall Citroen Peugeot Fiat and Toyota equivalents - Toyota
- Proace City L1 Electric Icon Van 50kWh Auto
We found 1 under £20k and 5 under £25k
check equivalent Vauxhall, Citroen and Peugeot offers - Proace 75kWh Icon Medium Panel Van Auto MWB 6dr
9 found between £27k and 30k. RRP is £43k
check equivalent Vauxhall, Citroen and Peugeot offers - Maxus
- E Deliver 3 90kW H1 Van 50.2kWh Auto
We found 2 examples a few pounds under £20k but lots of stock between there and £23k
Good, attractive and popular van but check reviews.. bit noisy at speed and leaf springs at the back may be an issue with heavy loads (retrofit options are available) - T90ev 88.5kwh Elite Pickup 4dr Electric Auto Rwd (177 Ps)
We found 8 between £25k and £28k
Pickups aren’t our thing but its big with an 80k kWh usable battery with official range of 220 miles so on a price per kg of steel it’s good value. Check reviews we haven’t
Under £40k
- Ford
- E-transit 350 68kWh Leader Panel Van 5dr Electric Auto RWD L2 H3
10 examples under £30k but most are dropside vans. Plenty of choice under £33k and for the spec and size of van it’s decent value
video review – Electrifying - Transit Custom
9 examples for just above and below £34k
This is a brand new model so deals should sharpen up over time and currently look pricey compared to a Vivaro-e - Volkswagen
ID. Buzz Cargo Commerce SWB 77kWh 204PS Automatic
7 listed at under £35k although the cheapest (under £31k) was pre registed in December 2022!
There was a definite “buzz” round this Cargo and the passenger version of the Buzz. All versions look upmarket and would give a business a marketing boost. Perhaps the only basic looking versions are those that come with matt black bumpers. Contrast paint options are probably the ultimate spec. Considering the image the Cargo’s RRP prices are a bit lower than some competitors and discounts are decent but not a big as some of those competitors.
Video review – R Symons - Maxus
- eDeliver 7 88.5kWh Panel Van 5dr Electric Auto L2 H1
Brand new so no great deals (2 under £40k) but this should change and be a real competitor for Ford’s transit range. One to keep an eye on and attractive and modern with LWB and high roof versions too. - eDeliver 5
Due to arrive in the UK in August this is at least as cute as an ID Buzz (think a van designed by the Honda-e design team). WLTP range just over 200 miles and 1,200kg payload suggest it won’t just be a pretty face. 80kW charging suggest time around 45 mins
images from Autoexpress
early spec report from Van Reviewer
Under £50k
2 Getting Discounts on a specific new EV
On the Start page on Autotrader
Go to autotrader vans
- choose a brand and model you are interested in
- pick national search for widest results (most dealers can deliver within UK for a supplement)
- Press search
Sorting results (top right)
Results display defaults according to relevance. Change this to Price (Lowest). Sometimes when you change your search filters you will need to repeat this if it switches back to relevance.
Filtering your results (left hand side)
- This defaults to Select a year. Select brand new if you want offers on only new cars from dealer stock
- If you want to broaden this search to preregistered cars choose select a year eg from 2023 and change mileage from any to MAX 100 miles.
- usually ignore the first and last results on a page which are paid adverts and continue to the next page
- see what discounts are available with sort from low to high. If there are no discounts on the first page try step 2 above.
- you can use the same menu to switch to a search for a different make and model, specify a colour, trim level or even specify only cars with a sunroof.
Benefits and pitfalls
- remember many cars come standard in a colour and a trim or battery size. So if a stock van is in the colour you want, it is likely to be the same as you would get in a custom order, but for a lot less money and quicker delivery.
- Some listed include metallic paint or option packs in the discounted price that you would have to pay extra for normally.
- It is also worth remembering that while some dealer stock are the same as you would order from the manufacturer website others are different versions.
- if you don’t see any discounted models you want, then check this years used models with a larger mileage
- If the photo and image are not a photo of a specific van the offer may look different. always ensure you get a proper set of photos or video inside and out.
- Many EV’s listed are outgoing models and were built at the start of 2023 and have been sitting around
- Finally there is no rhyme or reason behind individual prices. Higher spec can be cheaper than with lower spec and the identical cars can be offered at wildly different prices.
- Finally some discounts are on great EV’s and some are on lemons that no discount can fix.
