2018 Renault ZOE EV costs from £18,240 in the UK – but it’s really £28,520

The 2018 Renault ZOE EV, complete with a more powerful electric motor, will cost from £18,240. But only if you lease the battery and after the taxpayer has chipped in a chunky £4,500.

Last month saw the reveal of the 2018 Renault ZOE (complete with a bit more power and an optional purple paint job), the updated version of the best-selling electric car in Europe. And now it’s going on sale in the UK with prices from a headline-grabbing £18,240.

But if you look at what Renault are actually charging for the ZOE, it’s a bit different to the headline price.

In fact, if you opt for the entry-level iDynamique Nav ZOE – which comes with key card, auto lights and wipers, parking sensors, cruise, Climate and R-Link – the actual list price is £22,920 with Renault arriving at the price by knocking off the taxpayer bribe of £4,500. Which is a taxpayer bribe which really should be ended. Not only that, but you’ll have to lock in to a minimum of £59 a month to ‘lease’ your battery on top of the list price.

If you actually want to all the bits of the ZOE – battery included – to be yours, then Renault are charging £28,520 which drops to £24,020 after the PiCG. Which is a lot.

Opt for the range-topping (of two) ZOE iSignature Nav and Renault want £30,770 (£26,270 after PiCG) unless you want to lease your battery and then it’s £25,170 (£20,670 after PiCG).

The ZOE may be the best-selling EV in Europe, but it’s far from cheap and the battery lease option is going to make selling it on very difficult.