Electric vehicles are the future and every year, automakers are adding more electric cars to their lineup. From well-established vehicle brands to new brands, everyone is paying attention to electric vehicles.

What are electric vehicles? (1)

Electric vehicles do not use the old combustion method and run on electric motors. Old cars use gas or petrol as fuel, combustion of which causes air pollution and electric vehicles are their best alternates as they also reduce air pollution, among several other benefits.

Types of electric vehicles

Ground vehicles

Pure-electric vehicles

All-electric vehicle or a pure-electric vehicle runs through electrical motors. The electricity is provided by the fuel cell, solar panel, or battery.

Hybrid EVs

It integrates a traditional powertrain with an electric engine. Japan is leading in the market of electric vehicles and has sold 5 million hybrids. The United States is in the second rank and has sold over 4 million hybrid electric vehicles.

Plug-in electric vehicle

This type of electric vehicle gets charged by the electricity from an external source such as a rechargeable battery or wall socket. It is considered as a subcategory of EVs, which include plug-in hybrid vehicles, battery electric vehicles, and more.

Range extended electric vehicle

It is powered by a plug-in battery and an electric motor. Added combustion engine helps in battery charging but does not act as a main source of energy.

Off- and on-roadEVs

On-road electric vehicles are forklifts, milk floats, golf carts, neighborhood electric vehicles, personal transporters, electric scooters and motorcycles, electric bicycles, electric trucks, electric buses, electric trolleybuses, and electric cars. Off-road electric vehicles are electrified tractors and all-terrain vehicles.

Railborne EVs

The fixed rail lines make it convenient to power up EVs through electrified third rails and overhead lines. This eliminates the requirement for massive onboard batteries.

Top expected brands of Electric Vehicles (2)

  1. Aspark Owl

This car will be the first version of high-dollar hypercars. Its four electrical motors produce 1984 hp. It claims a tremendous torque-vectoring system and a battery pack of 64 kWh lithium-ion that will deliver a driving range of 280 miles. The top speed claimed by the owl is 249 mph. Its cost will be around $3.2 million and there will be limited worldwide production of up to 50 units only.

  1. Audi Q4 e-Tron

As the name indicates, Audi’s Q4 e-Tron size will lie between Audi’s Q5  and Q3 crossovers. However, the electric configuration of the Audi Q4 e-Tron will make it different from the above two. Like other upcoming EV models of Volkswagen group, it will cruise on the MEB platform of the company. Its initial cost will be $70000.

  1. BMW i4

The first “i” cars (i8 and i3) of BMW relied on futuristic and wild designs. BMW has declared that the i4 car will have an 80 kWh battery pack and produce 530hp. The driving range of the i4 will up to 300 miles. In about 35 minutes, the 80% driving range of i4 will be recharged with 150-kilowatt charging. The expected price of the BMW i4 is $50000.

  1. BMW iX

The goal of BMW for the iX seems promising. The configuration of iX will be like an SUV driving range of 300 miles and 500 hp. BMW also announced that it will focus on DC quick charging of up to 200 kW. That much powerful charger will allow the recharging of the battery up to 80% in just 40 minutes. The size of iX is as same as X5. The expected price of BMX iX is $80000.

  1. Bollinger B2

This pickup has removable and foldable body panels, a style of Jeep Gladiator, twenty inches ground clearance, rear, and front disconnecting bars, and locking differentials. It will get more appealing when having features of geared axle hubs, hydropneumatic suspension, rear, and front tailgates, and the cargo capacity of 16 ft lumber pieces. The cost of Bollinger B2 will be $125000.

  1. Cadillac Lyriq

The purchaser will be able to buy Cadillac Lyriq in both dual-motor all-wheel drive and single-motor rear-wheel drive. Cadillac claims that it will have a driving range of more than 300 miles with a single charge, utilizing Ultium Scalable battery architecture and GM’s modular platform. It will offer DC quick charging and a battery pack of 100 kWh capacity. Its initial cost will be $60000.

  1. GMC Hummer

Pickup and SUV style of GMC Hummer electric vehicle is expected to be launched in the current year. It will produce 1000 hp with 1-,2-, 3- motor. Its torque will be 11500 lb-ft. GMC declared that it will have a 4-wheel steering mode for crab walk, four-wheel drive, and configurable roof panels. Due to the current pandemic, its debut was delayed. The initial cost of Hummer will be $112,595.

  1. Lotus Evija

Lotus is trying to make another carbon fiber car. This car will be all-wheel drive and charged electrically making the horsepower of 1972. Lotus is considering calling it by name “Evija” and it will manufacture only 130 units. The starting price will be $2.1 million. Evija is expected to be charged up to 80% in just 12 minutes.

  1. Lucid air

Lucid is a battery-technology company. It declared the manufacturing of an electric four-door sedan but failed to do so. In 2020, this company received an investment of $1 billion from Saudi Arabia and established a plant in Arizona. Lucid promises a driving range of 406 miles, 480 hp, autonomous-driving technology, and over-the-air updates. The initial cost of lucid air is $77400.

  1. Mercedes-Benz EQA

The new EV line-up of Mercedes Benz EQA will be considered as EQ family. The expected EV version of Mercedes Benz is all-wheel drive with 280 hp. The claimed driving range is 250 miles. Its starting cost will be $57000.

 

References

  1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_vehicle
  2. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/g29994375/future-electric-cars-trucks/