With 491 rechargeable electric vehicles registered in 866, France now has more than a million of these vehicles in circulation (Source: Avere France article from January 2024) ! And this number is expected to continue to grow in the coming years. Indeed, some brands have even decided to go fully electric soon, this is for example the case of Lancia which no longer wishes to market thermal vehicles from 2026. So, whether you are already convinced by electric, or whether you are more pragmatic, if you are planning to purchase a vehicle, and more particularly a car soon, it is important to take an interest in the different electric models offered or coming to the market. We take stock of the offers on the market with 4 rankings in TOP 3 (+1): autonomy, entry-level, mid-range and high-end. This article is the result of independent analysis and synthesis work and is in no way sponsored by either manufacturer.
What do you need to know when buying an electric car? What are the parameters to take into account?
Beyond aesthetics, several important parameters must be studied to choose the vehicle adapted to your needs. Firstly, it is essential to determine:
- Who and for what uses will this car be?
- This can help you determine the number of places and doors to target.
- What types of journeys will be carried out?
- You will not need the same capabilities to make short daily urban journeys as to cross half of France regularly
- What charging possibilities are available to you in your city or near your home
- Here again, the necessary autonomy can vary greatly from one situation to another
Let's now see together, the different technical points to know about an electric car.
Battery power and autonomy
These first two points go hand in hand. Indeed, autonomy is directly linked to power and battery capacity, that is to say the usable energy thereof. Capacity, most often expressed in kWh in the case of electric vehicle batteries, determines the number of kW that the battery can provide in an hour. It is this data which is generally provided in the technical specifications. The power of the electric car is expressed in kW or hp and we remember that one horse = 740 W = 0.74 kW. The example below will allow you to better master these quantities:
Thus a (fictitious) car 80 kW will have a power of 108 hp. If this car consumes on average 12 kW (16hp) and its battery has a capacity of 55 kWh then the autonomy in hours of this 55 kWh battery would be 4h35. If the average speed is 72 km/h then its autonomy in km would be 330 km. Its average consumption in Wh/km (see below) would then be 167 Wh/km
Autonomy is the number of km that a vehicle is capable of traveling between two recharges. Please note, here again the actual autonomy may vary depending on several parameters, in particular:
- le type of journey made : on the motorway, consumption is higher for an electric car than in town (it's the opposite of a thermal car)
- le driving style : implementing eco-responsible actions can help reduce consumption
- la weather forecasts : in very cold weather, autonomy can drop significantly. Firstly because of the chemistry of the battery but mainly because of the heating, it can drop by 60 to 70% depending on your average speed (traffic jams)
- battery age which loses (a little) capacity over time
On the other hand, the autonomy announced by car manufacturers is based on tests in optimal conditions. Thus, it is often necessary reduce the announced figure by 20 to 30% to obtain the real autonomy of the car. But this is also valid with thermal cars: few people reach “catalog” consumption!
For example, a car with an advertised range of 700km will maintain a real range of around 500km, which remains comfortable. Whereas a car with a basic announced autonomy that barely corresponds to your needs risks ending up with a real autonomy that is penalizing when traveling. It is sometimes difficult to imagine a distance calculated in km, the image below shows the distance of journeys connecting some major French cities to allow you a physical representation of the different ranges proposed in the rest of the article:
Consumption in Wh/km
This is again a relatively important point to consult. Indeed, not all electric cars consume the same amount of energy per km. The less energy your car consumes, the longer you can use it before having to recharge it. The consumption of an electric is generally between 150 and 170 Wh/km. Of course, these values are not valid in the case of electric utility vehicles which, due to their weight, consume much more energy. But for a classic car, consumption below 150 Wh/km can be seen as reasonable or even low, and conversely, beyond 180 Wh/km consumption must be seen as rather high.
The advantage of an electric car is that it consumes almost nothing when stationary and the city is its favorite playground because it recovers braking energy. This considerably increases its performance compared to its big sister, the thermal car, which is completely incapable of filling its tank while braking!
The specifics of recharging an electric car: it takes longer than filling up!
Le recharge time of an electric vehicle can be long. This is why it is essential to study this factor when choosing your model. Let's take a look at the different charging options available to you:
- Public chat domestic wall socket (2.3kW)
- Although possible, this option is not recommended!
- It leads to very long charging times (at least one night up to more than a day for a full charge)
- The slow charging times shown in the tables in this article refer to charging of this type.
- This is a method that should be reserved for exceptional situations in which you do not have access to any other means of loading.
- The advantage is that it can be done at home, without a lot of costs or constraints (no subscription, no free terminals to find, etc.)
- Public chat dedicated wall box (7.4 kW)
- You can have this type of box installed at home
- However, it is necessary to count an investment of between 1200 and 2500€ including the purchase and installation
- On the other hand, several connectors exist for electric vehicles, so a Wallbox will not be compatible with all models of electric cars
- This is therefore a point to which you must pay attention if you have several electric cars in your household to avoid having to install several boxes
- On a fast charging station (100kW or more, up to 350 kW) which can be found:
- In some motorway gas stations
- In many public parking lots
- Close to shopping centers
- In spaces offered by certain car dealerships
- You will have understood, if you live in town, it will be rather easy to find,
in the countryside perhaps less and you will therefore need to plan for autonomy accordingly if you do not wish to invest in a wallbox
The price of a new electric car
Finally, as with any purchase, you will need to align your requirements with your budget. The good news is that electric is gradually becoming more popular. You will find below, our top “entry level”, offering cars so the price is less than or equal to €25 which is rather reasonable for a new vehicle.
On the other hand, certain aid is available for the purchase of an electric car. This is for example the case of the ecological bonus which was renewed in 2024, even if its amount was revised downwards and its allocation criteria modified. To benefit from it:
- The vehicle purchased must be a new vehicle and registered for the first time in France
- The amount of aid is now set at €4
- Buyers whose tax income is less than €15 will be able to benefit from an additional amount of €400
- The purchased vehicle must have been assembled in Europe and its price must not exceed €47
- A list of vehicles affected by the ecological bonus is available on the Ademe website
Now that you have some essential information in hand to make your choice, we have selected the models that seem to us to be the most efficient on the market currently in several price categories.
Our Top 3+1 Long Battery Life
Autonomy is a bit like the Holy Grail in the field of electric mobility. Few people will answer that they do not want to pollute less. And provided we improve manufacturing conditions, continue efforts to make electricity as green as possible, and invest in factories for recycling used batteries, electric cars could contribute to reducing CO2 emissions. . Yet when we open the debate, one of the concerns that comes up most often concerns autonomy.
Not easy indeed, to agree to swap our current cars for which only a few minutes are enough to fill a tank and set off for several hundred km, against a solution which restricts the possible journey length, or which requires several hours for each recharge . Good news, because progress is coming on this front, with prices that sometimes remain reasonable! This is what we wanted to show with this first top:
In first place, the Peugeot e-3008 in its long autonomy version : 700km displayed made possible by a 98kWh battery. Its technical capabilities are close to what is currently best and allow us to hope for a real range of more than 525 km whatever the conditions. Enough to cross France with just one recharge to do. Some electrics do even better... but what places the e-3008 at the top of the ranking is also its price of €56 which makes it a high mid-range car. Although this is a budget option, the price remains reasonable when compared to other models with the same autonomy.
We also find in the ranking the Renault Scénic long autonomy, And the Tesla Model 3 also in its long autonomy version. Two cars which are also in the same price range while offering very good performance in terms of autonomy. The Tesla Model 3 also offers greater engine power capabilities, which can also be an argument in its favor. The Renault Scénic stands out for its eligibility for the ecological bonus, a good point especially since it is the only eligible model in this first ranking.
Finally, we also wanted to mention as a bonus the Fisker ocean. His name is not known to you? This is normal, the model is rather recent and not yet featured often enough. This is what caused it to not be able to appear in the ranking even though in terms of technical capabilities, and autonomy/price ratio, it easily exceeds the 3 models offered. Unfortunately it is only possible to buy it in two points of sale currently (in Buc in Yvelines, or in Toulouse in Haute Garonne). Likewise, its network of charging stations is not yet very extensive (it can, however, be charged at home or at public terminals) and the on-board application still has some drawbacks which should be resolved over the course of updates. Hazards due to its recent arrival on French territory, but which do not prevent it from being a model to watch closely, especially since its surprisingly reasonable price (€43) could make some of them want to You can play beta testers.
Our Top 3+1 of entry-level electric cars
The vehicles in our first top are certainly efficient in terms of autonomy, but their price does not suit all budgets. So, in this second top, we focus on entry-level vehicles whose price does not exceed €25.
In first place in this top, we find the fiat 500e, with a 42 kWh battery for 320 km announced, which remains comfortable for daily journeys close to home (for example to go to work). The technical characteristics are very similar for the brand new Citroen ë-C3 which could even have taken first place if it had been a little less recent. In fact, it is currently available for pre-order, for delivery in 2024, which may suit the most patient.
In third place the Twingo e-tech which is not unworthy with its 270 km of autonomy announced for a 60 kWh battery. And from Renault, another small affordable electric should appear soon: the Renault 5, the price of which is announced as less than €25 for a range of 000 km! So, if your purchase plan is not urgent, it may be worth keeping an eye on this model which promises greater autonomy compared to other models in its price bracket and should be marketed between the end of 400 and the beginning of 2024.
Our Top 3+1 Mid-Range
Regarding the mid-range top, it is important to note that several of the vehicles offered in the “long range” top could also have appeared there. However, we have chosen to present different models to you here in order to support our proposition of vehicles with a good range/price ratio.
So, here it is BYD Seal RWD which takes first place. With a small downside however regarding its origin which does not suggest a very strong concern for ecology during its construction. It is closely followed by the Mercedes EQA and its announced 560 km of autonomy. This second model in our ranking also has an important advantage, since it is the only one in this top to be able to claim the ecological bonus with its price of €46 and its manufacturing which can be carried out in Germany.
The IONIQ 6 RWD from Hyundai takes third place with a 77.5 kWh battery allowing it a range of 614km at a price, however, slightly higher than the two previous models. Note that the South Korean brand Hyundai is among the most reliable in the electric mobility market.
Finally, although it has not yet been released, we could not not mention the DS 8 of the brand of the same name. 98 kWh for 700km announced, very good performance which could take it to the top of the rankings once on the market.
Our Top 3 high-end electric cars
Finally for some of you, maybe automobile means technical performance and high speed. If this is the case, this last top is for you since it focuses on high or very high end vehicles.
In this top it's no big surprise Tesla wins first place. The Model S Long Range, equipped with a 670 hp engine, also announces an ideal range of 840 km for 100 kWh of battery (average consumption: 119 Wh/km). It is followed very closely by the model Dream from Lucid Air offering 836 km of autonomy, for a higher price due to the 1080 hp of the engine.
Finally, it is a model from Mercedes Benz, the EQS 580 4MATIC which takes third place in this top with 783 km announced. Needless to say, given the price of these three models, no ecological bonus can be deducted from your purchase, however.
Conclusion on electric cars available in France at the start of 2024
We are coming to the end of the article and we hope that the different tops proposed have helped you to see more clearly in the best electric car models currently on the market in France in 2024.
Of course, this is a sector in constant search for improvement and it is likely that the coming years will bring new, even more efficient models. On the other hand, even if our different rankings are not based solely on the most ecological models, do not hesitate to integrate elements such as the location of manufacture of your vehicle as well as the origin of the parts which compose it. In this regard you will find here a global eco-assessment of the electric car by Ademe
Indeed, if mobility seems to be taking an almost inevitable turn in favor of electricity, it is up to the consumer to choose the part to give to ecology in their purchase. As with all products, certain models are more favorable than others, a point taken into account this year in the calculation of the ecological bonus for example.