This is the year of the electric car – with 34 new plug-in vehicles due to launch in 2020, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. It’s the organisation that oversees the UK industry and the forecast was included in its look back at the 2019 new-car market.
Over the next few years, you can expect the number of electric vehicles (EVs) offered by manufacturers to snowball. The car industry’s heavy-hitters have been transforming their businesses and plunging millions into the design and development of electric cars; consequently, in the near future we’re going to see the fruits of that huge investment.
Here’s our guide to the new electric cars you need to keep an eye out for in 2020 and beyond – and, if one in particular takes your fancy, don’t forget to let us know in the comments section below…
From the new BMW i4 and the Audi e-Tron, to the Polestar 2 and Tesla Cybertruck pick-up, there are some impressive EVs of all different shapes and sizes just around the corner. With that in mind, read on for our look at the most interesting upcoming electric cars.
Future electric cars 2020: what to expect this year
1. Audi e-Tron and e-Tron Sportback
The electric Audi e-Tron is now available to buy, and we’ve driven it in on UK roads, too. However, it’s only the beginning of the brands electrified plans, and now we’ve spotted Ingolstadt’s engineers testing spiced-up derivatives. Earlier this year, our spy photographers snapped the Sportback version of the eSUV, and now they’ve caught what could be the performance-orientated e-Tron Quattro S out testing.
2. Audi e-Tron GT
The new Audi e-Tron GT continues the new, electric design language introduced on the e-Tron SUV, and transposes it onto an A7-style body – though at 4.96m long, 1.96m wide and 1.38m high, it’s both lower and slightly wider than that conventional grand tourer. And although it uses the Taycan’s J1 platform – and keeps the same roofline as the Porsche – this is unmistakably an Audi. It’s a concept for now, but CAR understands it’s pretty much production ready. Here’s what we know.
3. Audi Q2 e-Tron
Audi is on an electric charge, and new spy pictures suggest the Q2 is latest model to swap fossil fuel for batteries. Our man with the telephoto has captured a new emissionless version of Ingolstadt’s baby SUV testing, and there are a few changes compared to the ‘standard’ Q2.
4. Audi Q4 e-Tron
CAR’s been reporting on plans for a Q4 to join the Audi range for years now – and here’s the first official confirmation of what shape it’ll take: it’s the new Audi Q4 e-Tron concept car.
Ingolstadt has publicly committed to fleshing out its already expansive SUV range, as the world’s appetite for crossovers shows no signs of abating. Before long, most integers between one and 10 will have their own Q spin-off, it seems.
Audi has confirmed that the Q4 will be launched ‘in late 2020/early 2021’, suggesting that there’s still two years of development before we see the production version. More info here.
5. Aston Martin Lagonda
After kickstarting the Lagonda brand with the slick Vision Concept last year, Aston Martin will return with the All-Terrain Concept.
Like most electric cars, we’re told the new Lagonda concept goes big on all the benefits EV powertrains bring; so expect an surprisingly expansive interior and a very unconventional exterior design.
The Lagonda SUV won’t go into production looking exactly like this, but we’re starting to see what the design direction will look like. We’ll know more after the Geneva motor show.
6. BMW i4
Munich is desperately ramping up its electric car ambitions and the i4 will move the sub-brand into a more high-volume, family-friendly part of the market.
The production-spec i4 saloon will use two electric motors, all-wheel drive and torque vectoring. It’s likely that BMW will follow Tesla’s lead in offering different versions with a choice of power outputs. This car is aimed squarely at the Tesla Model 3, after all…
A customer-ready version of the i Vision Dynamics could be in showrooms as early as 2020, explaining our spy photos of a prototype on a transporter.
7. BMW iX3
BMW’s all-electric Concept iX3 SUV was revealed at the 2018 Beijing motor show and is a signal of BMW’s further intentions to expand the BMW i range of vehicles.
The new iX3 is a fully-electric version of the X3 crossover, and looks pretty much production-ready. The iX3, confirmed for production in 2019, is just one element of the brand’s i Division attack plan: the target is 12 pure EVs by 2025, and 13 plug-in hybrids.
8. Byton M-Byte
The Byton M-Byte is an ambitious, highly connected SUV we previously saw at CES – the Consumer Electronics Show, for the less techy of you.
Byton has confirmed that the new car should be coming in 2020 to showrooms in Beijing, China and the US – and it should appear in Central Europe and the UK a little after that.
Just like the Audi e-Tron, the M-Byte is aimed at all the growth areas of the car market; China, SUVs and EVs. But unlike the e-Tron, Byton is targeting a more accessible price, and believes it can generate the scale to draw comparisons to the Tesla Model 3.
9. Cupra Tavascan
What is Cupra, and why? Seat – we mean Cupra – hopes to answer both of those questions with this, the new Tavascan concept. It’s a large SUV-shaped arrow toward the Cupra brand and its future. And because this is a concept from the VW Group, it’s electric and based on the group’s omnipresent MEB platform.
10. Dacia Spring
11. Ford Mustang Mach-E
A new kind of Ford Mustang is brewing – and the Mach-E is all electric. It’s a far cry from the Mustangs of yore… It’s already been unveiled in the US, and UK sales are due to start later in 2020, priced from around £40,000. More info here.
12. Infiniti electric cars
Nissan’s upmarket premium wing Infiniti has pledged to launch electrified cars by 2021. This new EV concept car (above) is pointer to what you can expect – just remember that Infiniti has now pulled out of the European market…
13. Jaguar XJ
The polarising XJ luxury saloon is due for replacement in 2020 and CAR’s moles suggest its successor will be a pure electric car. Traditionally the XJ has battled the likes of the Mercedes S-Class and Audi A8, but its successor must move its cross-hairs towards Porsche’s Taycan, Audi’s e-Tron GT and, in particular, Tesla’s now-venerable but highly successful Model S. And we’re hearing that’s exactly where the new, pure EV XJ is headed. More info here.
14. Kia e-Niro
The sister car to the Hyundai Kona Electric, the new e-Niro is the final part of the Niro’s triptych of powertrain options – the fully electric version of the popular small crossover. It keeps a decent boot (despite the batteries stuffed under the floor) and best of all is the 300-mile range quoted for the e-Niro, thanks to a chunky 64kWh battery. Brits won’t be offered the more affordable (and less rangey) 39kWh battery option. While the Soul EV has sold a modest 350 models a year in the UK, the importer has high hopes for this more practical model. First deliveries start in earnest this year. Read more about the Kia e-Niro.
15. Kia Soul EV
The oddball Soul is back as an electric car only, with no other powertrains being offered in the UK. It packs a 64kWh battery pack and is compatible with CCS fast-chargers – and you still get that funky Soul style that’s made this tallboy so distinctive over the years. Read more about the Kia Soul EV
16. Lotus Evija
Meet the Lotus Evija: the first all-new product from Hethel in over a decade, and its first under Geely ownership. Originally codenamed the Type 130, the Lotus Evija is an EV with sci-fi looks and equally outrageous performance. Lotus will produce just 130 examples, and it’ll cost around £2.4 million when deliveries begin in 2020.
If you want one, a £250,000 deposit will secure prospective customers a build slot.
17. Mini Cooper SE
A fully electric Mini wasn’t even in the product plan when the F56 generation debuted in 2014, but we’ve driven an EV Mini prototype that enticingly bears the Cooper S name. It’s an early taste ahead of the first production Mini Cooper SEs rolling off the Plant Oxford assembly line much later this year, with first UK deliveries in March 2020. Read our first impressions here.
18. Nissan Ariya
The Nissan Leaf has been left dangling for nearly a decade as Nissan’s sole electric car, but that will change in 2020 as a zero emissions crossover joins the range. Based on the IMx concept car, the production EV is a four-door crossover SUV that’s larger in size and battery range than the Leaf hatchback. It’s going to be called the Ariya.
19. Peugeot e-208
This isn’t a typo; the new Peugeot 208 introduces the latest generation of Peugeot’s venerable ‘two-zero’ series cars, and brings pure electric power to an established, mass-market supermini for the first time.
Along with the combustion engine versions, an all-electric 208 (handily named e-208) will be available. It uses the e-CMP version for PSA’s clever new compact car platform and will be the basis of the electric Vauxhall Corsa, too. There’ll be different trims with the electrid model getting some light blue detailing being the only real differentiators from the combustion engine versions. Full briefing this way.
20. Pininfarina Battista
The Pininfarina Battista is the fastest most powerful, road-car to come out of Italy. It’s powered by a Rimac-produced powertrain, and puts out 1874bhp and 1696lb ft of torque from four electric motors. It’ll ease you from 0-62mph in under two seconds. Read everything you need to know here.
21. Polestar 2
Volvo will launch two new electric cars this year, starting with its £40,000 Polestar 2 sports saloon to rival Tesla’s Model 3. Like the new electric Volvo XC40 that follows, the Polestar 2 will use Volvo’s small-car CMA platform. It’s a significant launch, expanding the fledgling Polestar brand into higher-volume territory, as it bids to capitalise on the world’s movement away from fossil fuels. Here’s what you need to know.
22. Porsche Taycan: Cross Turismo
Porsche has revealed the new Mission E Cross Turismo will be entering series production, and it’ll be the second all-electric EV from Stuttgart. Porsche says the new car will generate an extra 300 jobs for at its Zuffenhausen HQ, and it’ll follow the Taycan’s 2019 launch, too.You can read our drive of the Cross Turismo prototype here, or head here for everything else we know about the Mission E Cross Turismo.
23. Porsche Macan EV
Porsche is the latest brand to announce a huge push for EV production. A statement from Stuttgart has outlined plans for a new all-electric Macan, but significantly, it’ll only come in EV flavour.
Porsche says the new Macan will be the brand’s first all-electric compact SUV, and will follow the Taycan – which will be made by the end of this year – and later, the Taycan Cross Turismo. The new Macan should make it to production by 2020. Here’s what we know right now.
24. Rivian electric SUVs and pick-ups
A new name hopes to steal some of Tesla’s clean car creds: Rivian. A new American start-up, it has serious backers and some very plausible models, including this unusual R1T all-electric pick-up unveiled at the 2018 Los Angeles auto show. With a strikingly long EV range and some clever details such as a through-load facility to carry long items across the rear axle, it aims to bring silent electric running to the great outdoors.
25. Seat el-Born
This is the Seat el-Born – the first car from the Spanish brand to put on the VW Group’s MEB trousers. It makes its debut at the 2019 Geneva motor showand follows on from the rather Twizy-esque Minimo car shown at MWC 2019.
Are you wondering where on earth that name has come from? Well, it has quite literally come from a small, trendy precinct in Barcelona of the same name, not far from the overly touristy Gothic Quarter. There’s a metaphor in there somewhere.
The Seat el-Born has a total system power of 201bhp, capable of launching the electric hatch to 62mph in 7.5 seconds. Up to 260 miles can be gleaned from its 62kWh battery pack, and it can be recharged via a 100kW in around 45 minutes. More info here.
26. Seat Minimo
You’re looking a the Seat Minimo, a new Twizy-style concept car not unveiled at Geneva, but at Mobile World Congress (or MWC). Seat says the all-electric concept has been developed to meet the challenges of ‘city driving and emission regulations.’
Seat says the Minimo should combines the benefits of a motorcycle with the comfort of a car – while still remaining agile – and that basically puts it on parallel with Renault’s Twizy vehicle. It should comfortable fit two people and at just 2.5 metres long and 1.24 wide, the Minimo could be fine for smaller parking spaces. More info here
27. Seat Mii electric
In a move that’ll surprise nobody, Seat has revealed a new, electric version of its Mii city car – and revealed it’ll be ceasing production of the petrol one. The Spanish VW Group member is quoting 161.5 miles of range on WLTP, and says prices will be announced over the autumn.
28. Skoda Enyaq
Skoda’s first all-electric car. will be the Citigo – but there are several new all-electric cars on the way – and most use platforms shared among the VW Group. The Enyaq is a four-door crossover coupe, coming in 2021 – and that’s the one to watch.
29. Tesla Cybertruck pick-up
Not content with electrifying saloons, SUVs, sports cars and – soon – articulated lorries, Tesla has now unveiled its radical new Cybertruck, the first all-electric pick-up from Fremont. With a range of up to 500 miles, three different power outputs and seating for six, the Tesla Cybertruck is one of the most exciting trucks on the market, looking more like a DeLorean from Back To The Future than a commercial flatbed. Full story right here.
30. Tesla Roadster
If performance is your thing, the new Tesla Roadster v2 due in 2020 is hard to ignore. In typical Elon Musk fashion, the entrepreneur has decreed that the first open-top Tesla will also be the world’s fastest car – with 0-60mph in a claimed 1.9sec. That’s what happens when you plumb 7300lb ft of torque through a lightweight four-seater targa bodyshell. Bearing in mind some of the outrageous claims made for other Teslas (and the company’s inability to launch cars on schedule and budget), we might take its 250mph top speed and 620-mile range with a pinch of salt.
31. Tesla Model Y
The Model Y is the more upright, SUV-style version of the smaller, cheaper Model 3 – and it could arguably be an even more important car for the pioneering EV company. It’s Musk’s version of the baby, crossover SUV – a segment that brands such as VW, Audi and well, everyone seems to be all over in 2020. It’s also one of the most important sectors in the rapidly growing Chinese market.
32. Vauxhall Corsa-e
Vauxhall has officially released images of its new Corsa-e supermini, set to go on sale early next year. This is our first proper look at the new Corsa, and we expect the combustion engine one won’t look any different.
It’s based on the PSA small-car hardware called CMP, now that the French manufacturing group has bought GM Europe’s car-making business. That means the new 2019 Vauxhall Corsa shares its oily (and sparky) bits with the upcoming generations of Peugeot 208 and DS 3 Crossback.
33. Volvo XC40 Recharge
The XC40 Recharge, will be the Swedish brand’s first battery electric vehicle. Volvo’s claiming a sensible distance of at least 245 miles between, err, recharges, thanks to a 75kWh lithium-ion power pack hidden under the floor. It’s a location that ensures no packaging compromises for the interior andkeeps the centre of gravity low – a worthwhile exercise given the little Volvo’s become a bit of a chubster at 2250kg.
Replenish those energy stocks overnight on a dedicated home wallbox and you’ll be looking at a flat-to-full time of 7.5 hours, but hunt-out one of those spangly 150kW public chargers that are popping-up around Britain and you can go 0-80% in just 40 minutes.
Source: https://www.carmagazine.co.uk
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