- We hear a lot about electric vehicles these days,
but EV's are still just a tiny fraction
of the overall car market.
According to the international energy agency
plugging cars account for about 1% of US car sales
and about 2.6% of global auto sales.
- But experts are predicting that 2021
will be a crucial year for EV adoption,
thanks to more options and growing interest from car buyers.
So, we thought we'd zero in on seven different EVs
that are coming out this year.
And talk about what they tell us
about where things are headed in the future,
because this wouldn't be a Verge video
if we weren't talking about the future.
(gentle music)
- There's probably no more polarizing electric vehicle
coming this year than Tesla's cyber truck.
The stark steel body and blade runner inspired design
are unlike anything else on the market right now,
gas or electric.
Something Tesla has been really good at over the years
is pushing legacy automakers out of their comfort zones.
without Tesla, we probably wouldn't see wide adoption
of touchscreen displays in cars
or have so much hype around self-driving tech
and without Tesla, it's hard to imagine
any of these big OEMs
seriously investing billions of dollars
into electric vehicles.
Will the cyber truck inspire similar changes?
Probably not, but it is refreshing to see something
so different coming to market.
So, if the cyber truck is successful
maybe it'll give some of these automakers
just a little bit more wiggle room
to try something new in their designs.
The cyber truck will also just help prove
out the market for large electric SUV's and trucks
which is a potential goldmine
just based on the popularity of their gas counterparts.
More will come later like the electric F-150
or the Hummer EV,
but Tesla says it's already collected
more than half a million 100 dollar deposits
for the cyber truck.
So, that market's already off to a pretty good start.
- I couldn't believe it when I first heard that GM
was resurrecting the Hummer brand as an EV.
The gas guzzling symbol of pre-recession excess
as an electric pickup truck, forget about it,
but GM did it.
And the Hummer EV is expected to crab walk into dealerships
by the end of this year.
It will come with a 24 module
double stacked Ultium propulsion system.
Ultium is GM's modular battery platform
and that is expected to deliver at least 350 miles of range.
With three motors and two drive units.
The Hummer EV is expected to get up to a thousand horsepower
and an estimated 11,500 pound feet of torque,
but it won't be cheap starting at $80,000 for the base model
and over $110,000 for the highest spectrum.
GM went overboard with the tech in this thing,
adaptive air suspension
that can raise the vehicle six inches,
18 cameras, including front and rear under body cameras
to spy any Rocky obstacles.
The ability to charge 100 miles in 10 minutes.
And of course, crab walk mode,
which enables all four wheels to turn in the same direction
and move the vehicle sideways.
Look at that Hummer scuttle.
After more than a decade of working in the shadows,
EV startup Rivian is finally ready to release
it's R1T pickup and it's R1S SUV later this year.
the R1T is an ultra modern rethink
of what a pickup truck should look and feel like,
without going outside the box, like the cyber truck.
The R1S is a Land Roverish SUV,
that's a little more familiar.
Both started around $70,000,
offer at least 300 miles of range
and are decked out in fun, outdoorsy features.
Like an optional pop-out camping kitchen.
Delivery's start later this year.
A few years ago there were EV startups popping up
left and right, all claiming to be the next Tesla.
And one of the reasons they never accomplished that
is just money.
It takes a lot of money
to design, test, and build cars at scale.
Rivian, meanwhile has raised more than $8 billion to date
including from really big backers
like Amazon and Ford.
It's applied that money well so far.
It's developed new battery technology
that it thinks is going to help set it apart
from other entries on the market.
It's also gone all out in developing
this very particular branding
of affluent off-roading adventure
that appeals to buyers with deep pockets.
Rivian's also making a delivery truck for Amazon
as part of that investment.
That's already being tested on public roads right now.
And while that's maybe not as alluring as the pickup truck,
it just might be the first electric vehicle
driving through your neighbor.
(light music)
- We've seen the Porsche Taycan
and we've seen the Audi e-tron and e-tron GT,
but the ID.4 is arguably the most important EV
for the Volkswagen group.
Which is the second largest automaker in the world.
First introduced in 2020, the ID.4
is VWs first long range EV for the U S.
VW expects to deliver over a 100 thousand ID.4s in 2021,
a third of which to US customers.
And it's the second car
to use VWs modular MEB platform for EVs
after the ID.3,
which is only available in Europe and China.
The ID.4 is interesting,
because it has all the SUV DNA
that car buyers really crave these days.
It's the right size.
It has the right styling.
And when you factor in federal state and local tax credits
the price drops to that mid $30,000 range,
that's generally considered to be the sweet spot
for most American car buyers.
That's cheaper than the Tesla Model Y,
which VW will be competing with.
But it's important to remember how the ID.4 got here,
Dieselgate.
In addition to nearly $35 billion
in settlements and fines,
VW vowed to spend billions more
on a whole new lineup of electric vehicles
in the hopes of rescuing its damaged reputation.
Now, the automaker has promised to sell
over a million battery electric vehicles by 2025
to make up for illegally concealing
how much pollution it's diesel vehicles were creating.
And it's also pumping millions more
into an EV charging station expansion
through its subsidiary, Electrify America.
Better charging infrastructure will go a long way
towards speeding up the adoption EVs,
but only if VW can actually meet its goals.
Now, there's a good argument that could be made
that if VW had not got caught cheating on its emissions test
that the ID.4 would not be rolling out to dealerships
this year, if ever.
And those EV charging stations
could still be on the drawing board.
It's funny how culpability works like that.
- What are you driving?
- An electric Mustang.
- What the?
That is so sweet.
- Ford made a huge bet with the Mustang Mach-E,
and while it's still early,
it looks like that bet could pay off.
The Mustang Mach-E is a really good electric car
and will be one of the best for a while
until the market really fills out.
It has the kind of tech
that early adopter customers tend to love,
but without the obvious problems that usually surface
when old automakers test new waters.
I got really into the details with the Mustang Mach-E
in my review which you should definitely go watch
if you want to learn more.
But best of all, for Ford,
they've really excited a whole bunch
of different conversations with this car.
Is it a Mustang?
should a Mustang be electric?
Should a Mustang be an SUV?
There are more people asking those questions
than ever really paid attention
to Ford's fairly weak early electric vehicle efforts.
So, that's exciting.
Cars like the Mustang Mach-E don't come around often.
- One EV that's flown under the radar so far,
is the Nissan Ariya,
another compact SUV
with a little less than 300 miles of range.
The Ariya is expected to go on sale in Japan in mid 2021
followed by the US and Europe later in the year.
Everyone gives Tesla credit for making EVs popular
and Tesla certainly deserves it,
but Nissan has long been an unsung leader in EV sales.
Despite really only having one EV.
The highly functional, mostly uninspiring Nissan LEAF.
And don't forget Renault the French car maker,
that's allied with Nissan and Mitsubishi,
has been pumping out miniature Zoe's
for years now with a high degree of success,
but now Nissan is readying it's sequel.
The Ariyas drive train
is what really differentiates it from the LEAF.
Rather than opt for a simple front wheel drive arrangement,
the Ariya will come in multiple configurations,
including a two-wheel drive version
and a twin electric motor set up
that will enable all wheel drive performance,
which Nissan is calling the e-4orce.
with a four instead of an F,
because everything needs a ridiculous brand name.
This is not an over-designed car.
If anything, it's exceedingly normal looking,
which for an EV can be a relief.
The Ariyas wheels certainly stand out,
but nothing else about this vehicle screams electric.
Which could help lure or potential buyers
who are weighing whether to make the switch
from gas powered vehicles.
Like the ID.4, the Ariya is expected to retail
from around 30 to $35,000 after factoring in tax credits.
Now, Nissan is claiming this is the most
technologically advanced car that it's ever made.
And the tax credit is sure to soften the blow
for some customers,
but Nissan is quickly approaching the threshold
of 200 thousand EVs sold in the US
and after that the credit begins to phase out.
And then the value proposition on a 40 thousand dollar EV
that can't travel as far as a Tesla
in a single charge, starts to dwindle.
(light music)
- Not every electric vehicle coming to market this year
is a truck or an SUV.
Believe it or not, some companies are still making sedans.
One EV startup that's releasing a luxury sedan this year
is Lucid Motors.
Which will finally start selling the Air
The interior of the Air is inspired by a private jet,
according to Lucid,
but the car doesn't skip on specs either.
With up to a thousand horsepower
and over 500 miles of range.
Lucid Motors has a long history for an EV startup,
having been founded in 2007 as a battery company.
And it's currently helmed by a former Tesla executive
who helped bring the model S to light.
But the path to now hasn't been easy.
The company almost went under a few years ago,
because it pretty much ran out of money.
Lucid Motors ultimately turned to ironically,
oil rich Saudi Arabia.
Now, the startup is looking at building another factory
in Saudi Arabia
and its future is sort of indefinitely tied to the kingdom.
Lucid Motors may not be around today without that money,
but if it had been able to hang on
for just a little while longer,
it might've had another option,
merging with a special purpose acquisition company or SPAC.
These types of mergers have become really popular
over the last year as interest swelled in electric vehicles.
As a result, a few billion dollars has been directed
at previously struggling or under funded startups
like Variety Future, Cando, Nikola, and Fisker.
It's the kind of development that could really
change the course of the budding electric vehicle market,
but right now it's just a little too early to say how.
(light music)
- Many of these vehicles have been on the horizon for years.
And all of them are expected to go on sale this year
not withstanding any more delays,
but while these EVs help us understand
where things are headed,
the automotive industry is still lumbering
through a gigantic sea change right now.
- Like Tesla's existing vehicles
which are growing, ever popular.
And the company even just went back
and did a big redesign
of it's a model S sedan and model X SUV.
Or then there's China, which is the biggest market
for electric vehicles in the world
and is really driving a lot of the things
that we're seeing happening here in the US.
There are some really interesting cars being made there,
like the Polestar 2
and there are just a lot
of really interesting startups there,
like NIO and Xpeng.
We'd actually love to talk more about that.
So, if that's something you want to see
us make a video about, let us know in the comments below.
- If you haven't already definitely watch
our review of the Ford Mustang Mach-E
- Check that out, we had a lot of fun making that video
and be sure to like, and subscribe.