08 Mar Start your engines… sort of!

THE great electric car race is on and in 2021, motorists will get a bewildering choice of new electric cars as one manufacturer after another joins the leading pack.

PLUS there’s even better news. Prices are coming down thanks to economies of scale. So… let’s look at some of them, in alphabetical order.

The Audi e-tron GT is coming down the road this Spring. It’s a four-door coupe with a 250-mile range and performance that, well… takes our breath away with 0-62 mph taking just 3.5 seconds! It’s aimed at the Tesla S and Porsche Taycan market sector. Then there’s the Audi e-tron, a four-wheel drive SUV with a 280-mile range aimed at rivalling the much praised Jaguar i-Pace.

BMW have developed the BMW i4 with a 523 bhp electric engine, a top speed of 124mph and a rather impressive 373-mile range. Control is via a massive infotainment screen. 

Production will start later this year of the BMW iX. It does have a £100,000 price tag but with an output of  500 bhp, a range of 376 miles and the usual BMW quality – it has appeal. It’s chunky looks are really stunning too.

Citroen will present a budget-price –C4 with prices starting at £29,180 and new hydraulic suspension to deal with those dratted potholes.

In the hot hatch market, Cupra (parent company Seat) will launch a rear-mounted electric with a 310-mile range using the biggest available battery 82kWh unit.

Dacia claims their Spring Electric offering will be Europe’s cheapest electric car with a starting price of under £17,500 after EV grant incentives. It’s similar in size to the Mini hatchback and its 26.9 kWh battery will give it a range of 124 miles.

Jaguar is planning to electrify its XJ but details are under wraps at present. And it has pledged to electrify its entire range by 2025.

Its big rival Mercedes promises ‘the only electric compact crossover’ with a selection of battery sizes and a 250-mile driving range. They also plan a compact SUV called the EQB and a luxury limo EQS with a massive range of 435 miles being targeted.

Perhaps the most unusual styling comes from MG and its E-Motion with spectacular gull-wing doors. It gets from 0-62mph in less than four seconds, has a range of 310 miles and a sensible entry level cost of less than £30,000.

Byton, Hyundai, Nissan, Porsche, Skoda, Tesla, Vauxhall and Volkswagen are also crowding into the EV marketplace with new models this year.

*Figures were summarised from Autocar and readers should see the magazine for the full statistics.

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