Keeping track of every new car and knowing when they're due to go on sale can be tough, especially if you're only interested in EVs.
There are so many due to arrive over the next twelve months, so it's worth learning how long you'll be waiting for the one you want to go on sale. 2019 saw new entrants to the category from the likes of Audi, Mercedes and MG, with major launches from well-known electric pioneers such as Tesla, Nissan and Renault all set to follow.
The second half of 2020 looks to be even more stacked, as manufacturers work hard to meet increasingly tough emissions rules with the introduction of more all-electric models.
Here is comprehensive list of what EVs are coming when in the car industry.
March
Kia Soul EV
An updated design and upgraded interior aren't the only changes for the second-generation Soul EV - it also borrows a powertrain from the e-Niro crossover. With Europe not getting any kind of combustion engined-model, the sole Soul is now electric, with a 201bhp power output from a 64kWh liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery pack.
Known as the e-Soul in other markets, but changed for the UK for obvious reasons, the Soul EV's range matches the 279 miles quoted for the e-Niro. A 10.25in touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto improves things inside the cabin, too.
Mini Electric
A potential watershed moment for EVs, the upcoming Mini could become the very first electric hot hatchback. It is set to arrive with a powertrain influenced by the one found in the BMW i3, and will be built on an adapted version of the platform currently being used by the Mini hatchback.
Near-instant torque and a 0-62mph time of less than seven seconds mean it should earn its Cooper branding in other markets. Here in the UK it will be sold as the Mini Electric. Range has been WLTP-tested to be between 120 and 140 miles, which may be lower than its immediate rivals, but handling is promised to be a lot closer to the original 60's-era Mini - which sounds like a recipe for success to us.
After being on sale for six years, only the 208 GTi has managed to truly impressed us, so rumours that its replacement will appear in pure-electric form should be guaranteed to get hot hatchback fans excited. The standard 208 got its first electric version, courtesy of the CMP platform which allows for multiple powertrains, when the e-208 arrived in dealerships in March.
It doesn't get a bespoke design, instead sharing its looks with the petrol and diesel versions, but delivers 138bhp from its electric motor for a promised 8.1sec sprint to 62mph. Range is 211 miles under the WLTP protocol.
Seat Mii Electric
It has taken far longer to arrive than the Volkswagen e-Up with which it shares a platform, but Seat's electric city car finally went on sale in early 2020. With prices starting from £19,800 including government grant, it is one of the UK's most affordable EVs. A 36.8kWh battery pack promises a WLTP-certified range of 162 miles - 79 miles more than the first-generation VW e-Up.
Smart EQ Fortwo and EQ Forfour
The Smart brand went electric only when the revamped ForTwo city car arrived, complete with EQ branding. It retains the same 80bhp electric powertrain and 17.6kWh battery as the outgoing ForTwo Electric Drive, so will only offer a range of less than 100 miles.
The coupé version was quickly followed by the Fortwo Cabrio, still the smallest convertible on sale in the UK, and the five-door Forfour.
Uniti One
This British-engineered compact EV is purpose-built for city driving, with a three-seat layout and McLaren F1-style central driving position. A modest powertrain will be capable of 75mph, but should achieve close to 180 miles of range between charges, thanks to an ultralight 600kg kerb weight. At £15,000, it will be one of the more affordable EVs when it arrives.
Volkswagen e-Up!
The original e-Up was starting to look a little long in the tooth, with its 118 miles of range far off the pace of newer electric city cars and superminis, so a revised version makes a lot of sense. Revealed at the 2019 Frankfurt motor show, the second-generation e-Up arrives with a more powerful 81bhp electric motor and a bigger 32.3kWh battery that promises 161 miles of range on the WLTP protocol.
Audi E-tron Sportback
Deliveries for Audi's second electric SUV are set to begin at the end of Spring, with the sloped-roof E-tron Sportback joining the standard E-tron in dealerships. It will carry a £9000 premium over the regular car, but promises improved range thanks to a reduced drag coefficient and several mechanical improvements including the ability to decouple the front and rear axles so the car can be driven in rear-wheel drive.
Customers can expect around 278 miles of range, according to the WLTP test cycle. Power comes from twin electric motors that deliver up to 402bhp and 490lb ft in boot mode, allowing for a 0-62mph sprint in 5.7secs.
Peugeot e-2008
Peugeot's second fully-electric model will closely follow the arrival of the e-208 supermini with which it shares a platform. The new-look 2008 grows in size over the outgoing car, with more crossover-inspired looks and a choice of petrol and electric powertrains. The e-2008 is set to use the same 138bhp electric motor as the e-208, while a 50kWh battery should provide around 192 miles on the WLTP test procedure. It will arrive in UK dealerships towards the end of the Spring.
June
DS 3 Crossback E-Tense
Set to share its CMP platform with the Vauxhall Corsa and Peugeot 208, the 3 Crossback will be the first electric DS model.
Designed as a direct rival for the Volvo XC40 and Audi Q2, the Crossback will focus on comfortable, high-end interiors, distinctive exterior styling inspired by the 7 Crossback, and an electric range of around 180 miles from a 50kWh lithium-ion battery. 0-62mph performance is estimated at 8.7 seconds, with a top speed of 93mph. Order books are already open, but customers will need to wait until early summer to see the first cars on the road.
Honda e
It might arrive as a five-door, rather than the three-door layout previewed by the well-received concept shown at 2017’s Frankfurt motor show, but the production version of Honda’s compact electric city car promises to retain its retro-inspired looks. The company even went back to the drawing board after the reveal to make sure the real thing stayed as true to the concept as possible.
The Urban EV will arrive on a unique new platform and deliver 136 miles of range. It will be available in two performance variants, the base car delivering 134bhp and the more potent Advance variant having 152bhp. It will arrive in the Summer as the brand's first European electric car, with dimensions smaller than the Jazz, and prices starting from £26,560 including government grant.
Skoda Vision E
Set to arrive in SUV and coupe bodystyles in a similar approach to the Kodiaq and China-only Kodiaq GT coupé, Skoda’s first dedicated electric car isn’t expected to go on sale until 2021, but a production version should be revealed in 2020. Both versions will be based on the VW Group’s MEB platform, which is being used across all the company’s brands for electric vehicles. Range has been estimated at at least 300 miles, and pricing will be comparable to an upper-range Kodiaq, meaning roughly £30,000.
Summer 2020
Seat el-Born
The first non-VW model to launch on the MEB platform, the el-Born will have a very similar powertrain and engineering to the ID hatchback, but opts for sportier styling and a more engaging driving experience. Range is predicted to be around 260 miles between charges, while the 201bhp electric motor shown in the concept version promises a 0-62mph sprint of around 7.5 seconds.
It has already been seen in concept guise, and camouflaged test mules have been spotted on the roads, but a final production version isn't set to appear until later in 2020. It is likely to only go on sale once the VW ID 3 has arrived in showrooms.
Polestar 2
Volvo’s electric sub-brand introduced its first pure EV in 2019, but customer deliveries won't begin until the middle of 2020 at the earliest. The Polestar 2 is a mid-sized saloon-cum-SUV priced from £49,900 incuding government plug-in grant, and promises 311 miles of WLTP-tested range.
Limited to fully-loaded launch editions initially, with 402bhp from twin electric motors, it's yet to be revealed whether more attainable variants using one motor or a smaller battery will be introduced later down the line.
Volkswagen ID 3
Designed and built as a pure electric car, the ID hatchback will be a crucial launch for VW. It will closely match the Golf hatchback in size, and the company is anticipating a price starting from £27,000 - or close to that of a Golf diesel, making it a more affordable EV than existing models.
It will be built on the modular MEB platform, and offer a variety of battery options for a range of between 249 and 373 miles between charges. The final design largely remains true to the original concept, which was first revealed in 2016 and went on to inspire several other ID models, which are all due to launch over the next five years.
Autumn 2020
BMW iX3
An electric version of BMW’s X3 SUV, the iX3 will arrive with a new four-wheel drive powertrain comprised of two electric motors - one for the front axle and another for the rear. It will closely resemble the petrol-powered X3, rather than take any design inspiration from the more radical i3 and i8, to become only the company’s second pure electric car. Each motor should develop around 270bhp from a 70kWh battery, and be capable of around 249 miles of WLTP-certified range.
Ford Mustang Mach-E
Ford's upcoming pony car caused controversy for several reasons. It will be the first electric car to wear the Mustang badge, and it has a crossover bodystyle. At launch, the range-topping version promises 332bhp and a 0-60 time in the mid 5-seconds, but a full GT model is expected at a later date with 459bhp and a sprint time in the threes.
UK deliveries are scheduled for the third quarter of 2020, and while prices have yet to be made official, it is expected to cost from around £42,000 for an entry-level model, rising to over £60,000 for the top-end version.
Maserati MC20
Having first been previewed as the Alfieri concept back in 2014, Maserati will finally reveal a prototype version of its first electric car alongside a major brand relaunch in September, after the 2020 Geneva motor show was cancelled. Expected in a range of powertrains, the final production car won't arrive until late 2021, but it will serve to highlight the brand's push towards electrification.
Few specific details are known about the sports car, which is expected to also be made available as a plug-in hybrid. The EV could use a tri-motor, four-wheel drive system with torque vectoring and 800V battery technology.
Tesla Model Y
Revealed in March 2019, but not expected to go on sale in the US for at least eighteen months after and the UK even longer, the sister car to the Model 3 will arrive as a much-in-demand compact SUV with the option to add a third row - which could make it the go-to EV for large families. It share a platform and powertrain with the Model 3 saloon, which will hopefully speed up Tesla's ability to deliver cars on time.
A more advanced version of the company’s ‘supercomputer’ semi-autonomous driving system is also predicted, as is a more potent Performance variant.
Volvo XC40 Recharge
The company’s very first electric vehicle, the XC40 Recharge is the first of what will quickly become an entire range of EV-adapted versions, rather than brand new ones built around batteries and electric motors. That means an electric XC90 will follow.
Hardware will be shared with Polestar 2, which will arrive first, with customers having to wait until the tail-end of 2020 to see XC40 Recharge models on the roads. When it does, it will deliver 402bhp from twin electric motors, and promises 248 miles of range. Pricing was revealed at £53,000 - nudging the Recharge over the government's updated plug-in car grant maximum cost.
Winter 2020
Audi Q4 e-tron
The concept version of Audi's upcoming mainstream electric SUV was revealed at 2019's Geneva motor show, but a production version isn't set to arrive until 2020 as the firm's fifth electric model. It borrows styling from the e-tron, and will slot in beneath the Q5 in terms of size.
It will use the VW Group's MEB platform, rather than the adapted MQ platform used by the larger e-tron. Twin motors will provide Quattro all-wheel drive and up to 302bhp - around 100bhp less than the full-size e-tron but 100 more than MEB-based hatchbacks like the VW ID.
Pininfarina Battista
Only 150 Battista hypercars are set to be produced, but with individual motors for each wheel producing a total 1900bhp, it promises to be powerful in the extreme. Lucky customers will see deliveries towards the end of 2020 from the design house-turned-manufacturer, which has partnered with Rimac for the underlying powertrain.
Tesla Roadster
A flagship sports car to replace the original, Lotus-based Roadster that announced Tesla to the world, the next-generation Roadster has been previewed extensively ahead of an official debut. Tesla claims a top speed in excess of 250mph, a 0-60mph time of 1.9 seconds, and a range of 620 miles thanks to a 200kWh battery pack - the biggest in a production EV. Prices are expected to start at around £189,000 for the first 1000 cars, which will be badged as Founders Edition models. Following that, prices should be around £151,000 when general sales begin in mid-2020.
Rivian R1T
A surprise announcement at 2018's Los Angeles motor show, despite the company behind it having been first formed in 2009, the Rivian R1T is a pick-up truck reimagined for an EV generation. It has clever packaging that makes the most of available space, while the underlying powertrain promises to deliver as much as 754bhp and a 0-60mph time of under three seconds.
It is set to go into production in late 2020, which might be enough time to beat Tesla's upcoming pick-up to the punch.
Spring 2021
Fiat 500
The new electric Fiat 500 shares much of its styling with the current petrol-powered model, but underneath it is entirely new, with a bespoke architecture, 117bhp electric motor and 42kWh lithium iojn battery pack. Range is quoted at 199 miles on the WLTP test cycle, giving it an edge over the Mini Electric and Honda E.
Revealed online following the cancellation of the Geneva motor show in March, the electric Fiat 500 will go on sale in the first quarter of 2021. Prices will start from £29,500 at launch for a top-spec La Prima edition convertible, with hard-top models set to follow later.
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