The Independent EV Price Index October 2025

Your essential guide to electric car pricing, finance and deals to help you know when to buy in a fast-changing EV market

(The Independent)

Welcome to The Independent EV Price Index, your new monthly guide to the real-world costs of buying and running electric vehicles in the UK.

Launched in partnership with E.ON Next, this innovative resource – the first of its kind in the UK – will help you understand how EV prices are shifting, what’s driving those movements, and crucially help you if shopping, trading in, or simply tracking where the market is headed.

Combined with the expert reviews on The Independent’s EV channel, we’ll help you decide what to buy and when is best to buy it.

Built on data from Insider Car Deals, the data reflects actual discounts, finance deals and incentives available at retailers right now, giving you a valuable insight into the evolving electric vehicle market every month, all curated by our electric vehicles editor, Steve Fowler.

October EV Price Index Focus

(The Independent)

"Our exclusive EV Price Index is here to help you buy better. It will help you navigate the tricky car buying process by showing you when the best electric car deals are out there across the new and used market, while we’ll also highlight the savings that can be made on car finance, too. Combined with our expert reviews and buying guides, it all adds up to an essential set of tools to help you buy the right EV at the right price for you.”

Steve Fowler, The Independent’s Electric Vehicles Editor

1. Electric car prices edge up month-on-month, but there are still plenty of standout deals

With September one of the biggest months for new car registrations, and electric car registrations up nearly 30 per cent year-on-year, it’s no surprise that dealers aren’t working quite so hard for buyers’ business than they were last month. The EV Price Index has shown a typical increase of £207 (0.5 per cent) month-on-month at transaction level across all EVs.

That doesn’t mean that the incentives have dried up – far from it. The standout deal of the month is on the Vauxhall Corsa electric with total incentives – including discounts and finance offers – worth up to 36 per cent of the list price. In the case of the Corsa Ultimate we saw a total of £11,570 worth of incentives. GWM and Cupra joined Vauxhall in the top three brands for overall incentives on their EVs in September.

Takeaways

• When demand is up, discounts drop – but not by much at the moment
• Savvy buyers should avoid the busiest buying months for maximum potential savings
• Our EV Price Index will highlight the brands offering the biggest savings, with GWM, Cupra and Vauxhall top in September

2. Prices still massively down compared with 2024

We might have seen a slight month-on-month increase in transaction prices, but prices are still way down year-on-year. The EV Price Index shows that buyers are typically paying £3,259 less than they were this time last year – a 7.7 per cent drop.

Takeaways

• You’ll still pay much less for your EV this year than you might have done last year
• The government’s Electric Car Grant has helped to lower prices and boost demand

3. Used electric car prices are firming up

The EV Price Index is also monitoring the prices of used cars. We’ve seen an average increase of £491 (or three per cent) across our basket of ten of the most popular used electric cars from August to September. We look for like-for-like used car prices each month, with the biggest price increases showing for the Audi Q4 e-Tron and Nissan Leaf. Both saw increases month-on-month of well over £1,000.

There are lots of things that can affect used prices, particularly supply and demand, so it could be that supply of those two EVs dropped or the number of people wanting to buy them increased, which is why advertised prices appear to have risen. However, with September a busy new car buying month, it’s also a busy used car month. It will be interesting to see how those prices change over the coming months when showrooms and forecourts won’t be quite so crowded.

Takeaways

• Some models are more in demand than others, with supply being a major factor on prices
• As with the new market, buying in quieter buying months is likely to see better deals become available

4. Electric car choice still increasing month-on-month

There were more EVs on sale in September than there were in August, further boosting choice for consumers. Seven new models were registered on the EV Price Index in September, while year-on-year we’ve seen an incredible 35 per cent rise in total derivatives across 118 EV models compared with just 89 last year.

That’s set to increase again with a host of new brands like Changan coming to market in the coming months, while some recent arrivals such as BYD, Jaecoo and Omoda are set to expand their ranges rapidly.

Takeaways

• More new brands will arrive in 2025, with others set to arrive in the UK in 2026
• Some of the newly arrived brands like BYD will expand their line-ups further, buoyed by success with their initial models in the UK.

5. SUV popularity leads price increases

Buyers love SUVs, so they’re not necessarily the place to look for the biggest bargains. Over the past month we’ve seen our Median target prices for small SUVs and Medium SUVs edge up by £140 and £1,426 – which have both contributed to the overall month-on-month increase of £207. However, every other category is showing a month-on-month drop, with small cars, family cars, large SUVs and prestige cars all showing drops from August to September – the biggest being prestige cars at an extra £712, a drop of 1.1 per cent.

Takeaways

• If you want an SUV, you’ll still get a great discount, but bigger savings are available elsewhere
• Large SUVs still show savings increasing
• Avoid buying an SUV if getting the biggest possible saving is a priority

6. Personal contract purchase prices up slightly month-on-month

As our overall figures show, incentives have dropped overall across the EV market in September as the new registration plate drives more people into dealers. That means most of the monthly PCP costs have gone up – but not by much. Across the whole market, the rise is just £9 per month, with the only drop being small cars which would typically cost you £10 per month less during September than during August. It’s medium SUVs again that have gone up most – typically £26 a month more than last month – surprisingly followed by prestige cars and the expected small SUVs at £16 a month more in September than August. Car finance can be a bit confusing, so our guide to car finance will help you navigate the options you’ll be faced with.

Takeaways

• Monthly PCP costs are still low despite slight rise
• Small cars seen to be providing the best value in terms of overall incentives

Final Thoughts and Consumer Tips

• Use the EV Price Index to help you buy strategically. Some months will be better to buy than others, and you’ll be able to see when the best time to strike a deal will be.
• The used market is supply and demand driven. Demand in September was (and always is) strong, so it might be better to wait a while before you buy. And as more new EVs are sold, so more used EVs come onto the market.
• The best deals are available to those who are less fussy about what they want. As the EV Price Index shows, in demand small and medium SUV prices are edging up, but if you were prepared to go for a family car or larger SUV, you may get a better deal.
• Keep an eye on finance terms. Car makers are quick to change deals and will turn the taps on if demand is weak – meaning better deals – or turn them off if demand is stronger, as we’ve seen in September.
• Use our guides to help you buy. The EV Price Index will help you pin down when the best time to buy will be, while our reviews and guides will help you choose the right car for you and how to buy it.

View last month’s EV Price Index Report here.