The race to build an affordable electric SUV is on, with Jaguar and Tesla leading the way. In the meantime, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is finally available in the US and Alfa
Romeo is considering a large SUV boosted by a 48 volt electric turbocharger.
In the electric vehicle (EV) world, 2018 is shaping up to be the year of Chinese electric vehicles and global startups. China is doing everything it can to establish its international brand in this arena — perhaps the hottest new consumer market of the 21st century. It makes us wonder how the West will react? Tesla, Volkswagen, BMW, Ford, GM, Daimler, and others have strong statements on electric vehicles and autonomous ones at that, but how prepared are each of them to genuinely compete?
The NIO ES8 has been in the news lately. The new electric SUV from the Chinese startup (with billions in backing) certainly looks enticing, and Bloomberg has even called it competition to the Tesla Model X. Strong words, but are they founded on reality?
In Shanghai, on December 11th, 2017, WM Motor Technology Co. held a ceremony to reveal the first car under the new Weltmeister brand, the EX5. The new brand plans to start taking orders in April and hopes to start deliveries of its new sports utility vehicle in the second half of 2018.
Volkswagen will be releasing a new all-electric SUV model based on the ID CROZZ concept in the US in 2020, a company exec has revealed at the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show. Yes, 2020 — not 2018 or 2019. Still, that’s approximately two years away and could provide a good boost to electric vehicle sales in the country simply due to the popularity of that segment — if Volkswagen builds it well, sells it at a competitive price, and actually gets it into dealers’ hands. And, reportedly, Volkswagen is aiming to do just that.
The Nissan iMx electric SUV concept is on display at the Tokyo motor show this week. It sits on a new chassis that shares no components with the LEAF sedan.
The Hyundai Kona electric SUV will have two battery sizes and a maximum range of 210 miles. It will be available next year.
Following many, many years of waiting, it appears that Mitsubishi will finally be launching the plug-in hybrid version of the Outlander SUV in the US — with the release of the 2018 model year now slated for December.
Tesla has now delivered the first 50 of the 200 Model S sedans and Model X SUVs that were ordered as part of a deal with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that is intended to eventually lead to the deployment of an autonomous taxi fleet, as we reported a couple of months back.
Jaguar will begin a support series for Formula E beginning in October 2018. It will feature specially prepared I-PACE electric SUVs and will be called the eTROPHY series.
