(April 24, 2024) Big discounts to move electric vehicles off dealership lots means consumers have a selection of vehicles priced below $41,000, according to data compiled by Cox Automotive. Automakers and retailers offered huge incentives — sometimes five-digit discounts — to sell EVs that lingered on dealership lots for more than 100 days in the first quarter of 2024.

They are trying to overcome consumer worries about EV driving range limitations, a lack of public charging stations and high prices.

Each of the five least expensive EVs comes in at less than $41,000 with automaker and dealer incentives, according to Cox Automotive data. That compares with the average transaction price of $47,735, excluding an average incentive of $2,664, for vehicles industrywide.

The price-cutting strategy is not sustainable long term, said Stephanie Valdez Streaty, director of industry insights at Cox Automotive. "It's one of those chicken-egg things. You need to scale to get more profitability, more efficiencies," she said. "I think it's going to take some time."

Here are the least expensive EVs in the first quarter, according to Cox Automotive data. Prices don't include shipping but do include federal incentives, if the model is eligible. Cox defines the average transaction price as the cost before discounts and incentives. The sold price includes discounts and incentives.

1. Nissan Leaf: The Leaf sold for $27,956 with discounts. That's 19 percent off the average transaction price of $34,706. Nissan plans to redesign the Leaf next year into a sportier hatchback.

2. Nissan Ariya: The Ariya got the biggest discount of the quarter at 31 percent off the $51,438 average transaction price. The crossover sold for $35,556. Ariya sales rose to 4,142 in the first quarter, up 45 percent from a year earlier.

3. Hyundai Ioniq 6: The Ioniq 6 sold for $36,506 with incentives on average. That's a 22 percent discount from its average transaction price of $46,917, Cox said.

4. Tesla Model 3: The Model 3 sold for $40,547 on average. That's only 7 percent off its average transaction price of $43,649, but Tesla has been slashing prices to compete in the growing EV market.

5. Toyota bZ4X: Toyota's EV sold for $40,646 with incentives on average, a more than 15 percent discount from the average transaction price of $48,087. The automaker has prioritized hybrid sales over EVs.

Sources: Cox Automotive, Automotive News