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The first cars to receive the UK government’s new Electric Car Grant (ECG) have been revealed – and one is already one of the cheapest EVs on the market.

The six have been deemed eligible for the £1500 grant (the lesser of the two) and all come from French manufacturer Citroën. They are the ë-C3, ë-C3 Aircross, ë-C4, ë-C4 X, ë-Berlingo and new ë-C5 Aircross.

In the case of the ë-C3, the ECG reduces the starting price to £20,595, which drops it below rivals such at the £21,035 Fiat Grande Panda Elettrica and the £21,950 BYD Dolphin Surf Boost (the bigger-battery version). 

Only the smaller-battery Dolphin Surf Active (£18,650), Hyundai Inster (£19,755) and Leapmotor T03 (£14,495) offer a cheaper way into a new electric car in the UK, although the T03 offers 50 fewer miles of range.

Meanwhile, the ë-C3 Aircross now starts at £21,595; the ë-C4 at £26,150; the ë-C4 X at £27,215; the ë-Berlingo at £29,740; and the ë-C5 Aircross at £32,565.

Unlike with the previous Plug-in Car Grant (PiCG), buyers don't need to register for the discount; the ECG is automatically applied to the sale price of the eligible EVs.

The government said details of other models to receive the grant – which is backed by £650 million of taxpayer funding – are expected to be released in the coming days and weeks.

Transport secretary Heidi Alexander said: “This summer, we’re making owning an electric car cheaper, easier and a reality for thousands more people across the UK.”

Greg Taylor, MD of Citroën UK, said: "We welcome the support of the Electric Car Grant and are delighted to be the first to have our electric range approved and eligible.”

To qualify for the grant, car manufacturers must meet science-backed emissions targets, while the individual model lines must start at below £37,000 in entry-level trim.

Which discount a model receives (£1500 or £3750) is determined by their environmental impact: how much CO2 is emitted in an EV's production and assessing the energy used in vehicle assembly as well as battery manufacturing. Threshold levels have yet to be made public.

While any manufacturer can apply for their car to be included in the scheme, it's thought that, due to this criteria, cars produced in Asian countries will not be eligible for the ECG.

Consequently some have launched their own equivalent discounts, such as Hyundai and Leapmotor on the Inster and T03.

Worries about manipulation of the scheme have already been raised. For instance, sources have revealed to Autocar that car makers will be able to self-register EVs to receive the ECG.

If you walked through the cities and towns of the UK, you might think that us Brits have forgotten the idiom “good things come in small packages”, such is the prevalence of SUVs.

The reality for a lot of us, though, is that most journeys are short hops around town, with just one person in the car.

To exacerbate this problem, over the last few years we have waved goodbye to some of our finest small cars. For instance, the UK's former bestseller, the Ford Fiesta, has exited stage left. 

Yet. The small car isn’t dead. It is in fact thriving, bolstered by the addition of cracking little electric cars that are zippy and extremely cheap to run.

Below are our top 10 favorite pint-sized performers, each bursting with clever features, low running costs, and bags of charm.

We rate the Fiat Grande Panda as the jewel in the crown. Our testers were bowled over by its chic retro look, fun interior and the fact that it’s available as a hybrid and full EV.  It even took home our ‘Best Small Car’ award at our annual gong.