THE first electric car from Skoda - the Citigo iV - will be the cheapest zero emission car on the market when it goes on sale next year.

Skoda has announced that its all-electric newcomer will cost from £20,455 - and that's £16,955 when the Government grant for EVs is taken into account.

As such the Citigo iV is cheaper than the likes of Citroen's C-Zero, the smart fortwo and the Renault Zoe and beaten only by the oddly-styled Renault Twizy quadricycle.

Based on the Czech car maker's popular city car, the electric version of the Citigo has been completely re-engineered to incorporate a compact battery pack and a 61kW electric motor.

It gives the Citigo iv a WLTP range of up to 170 miles on a single charge.

The car will be available in two trim grades similar to the current petrol-powered model; SE and SE L.

Both versions of the Citigo iV feature the same battery and electric motor and offer identical levels of performance - 0 to 60 acceleration of 12.5 seconds and a top speed of 81mph.

The Citigo iV has the same levels of boot space as the standard petrol model with 250 litres available with the rear seats in position and 923 litres with them folded flat.

Charging can be done via a domestic or workplace wall box and with a 7.2kW AC wall box, the battery can be charged to 80 per cent in 4 hours 15 minutes, or 12 hours 37 minutes using a lower-powered 3.6kW homeâcharging station.

The SE L model can be charged faster using a Combined Charging System charging cable connected to a 40kW DC fast charger. When recharging via CCS, the CITIGO iV's battery can be recharged to 80 per cent in just 60 minutes.

Skoda says the Citigo iV can also be recharged using a standard household plug socket if a wallbox is not available.

With the current £3,500 grant available for EVs the Citigo iV will cost from £16,955 for an SE model - some £7,000 more than an equivalent petrol model.

SE trim includes climate control, a three spoke leather steering wheel and handbrake lever plus a DAB radio and remote central locking.

The SE L models, priced from £19,315 including the grant, have 16-inch alloy wheels, ambient lighting, heated front seats and rear parking sensors and body coloured door mirrors and handles.

They also come with the CCS charging capability and both models can be linked to Skoda's Connect app, which allows owners to check and control selected features of the car remotely including the charge status of the battery.