The Cheapest EV Right Now Isn’t From Tesla, Hyundai, or Any Japanese Automaker
Quick, what’s the cheapest electric car built in the U.S.? Is it Japanese, something straight out of Tesla’s cost-cutting Giga Press, or one of the Volvos imported from a Chinese factory? Nope. The U.S.-built 2026 Chevrolet Bolt undercuts them all at $28,595.
The silver medal goes to the redesigned Nissan Leaf S+, which loses by…well…a leaf. Its MSRP is $29,500. And that’s after Nissan gave it a full redesign and cut the cheapest trim.
Hyundai gave up on the bronze when it skipped the 2026 model year for its fully electric Kona variant. So third place goes to the Fiat 500e, which is still advertising newly built 2025 model year vehicles at $30,500. Order guide data reveals that when the 2026 model does land, it will come with a $5,200 price hike.
Likewise, after going to all the work to redesign the second-generation Chevrolet Bolt, GM CEO Mary Barra revealed that it would be a limited-run vehicle, canceled again after just 18 months.
It looks like the Nissan Leaf won’t have much competition for the gold medal.
