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With the Audi e-tron and Audi e-tron Sportsback, Audi has been making strides toward their commitment of 30 electrified models – both full electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids – by 2025. The next in the series of releases we will likely see from Audi is the all-electric compact SUV Q4 e-tron and the all-electric sports car e-tron GT. Audi are also rumoured to be working on a hyper-efficient EV that uses only a fraction of what a normal EV uses – likely extending the distance and improving charge times. Codenamed Project Artemis, the project is purported to produce a small electric vehicle as soon as 2024.
BMW has long stated that electric and hybrid vehicles will be a part of their future, saying that they will account for 15 to 25 percent of its global sales by 2025. The cute and zippy BMW i3 has been available to Australian audiences since 2014, making it one of the earliest commercially available EVs in Australia. BMW iX will be the German car manufacturer’s second pure electric car in Australia when it is projected for release in the latter half of 2021.
Having announced that they will sell only all-electric cars in Europe from 2030, one might assume exciting things on the horizon from Ford Australia. As the fourth largest car seller in Australia, Ford could make a substantial impact on Australia’s move toward electric vehicles. At time of writing, Ford has not expressed any intentions of extending their electric range to Australia and have only committed to a hybrid Ford Escape by the end of 2021. Ford of Europe will release their first full-line passenger EV in 2023.
Whilst Honda does not currently have an electric vehicle available to the Australian market, Honda Australia Director Stephen Collins said back in 2019 that they intend to have 25% of the range electrified by 2025, stating that EVs were a “key part of [Honda Australia’s] global plan”. Stay tuned.
Having launched both the Kona and Ioniq range of electric vehicles in Australia, Hyundai has already cemented their place in the electric car race. Earlier this year, Hyundai announced the newest addition to their fleet – the Ioniq 5. As an all-electric SUV, the Ioniq 5 will have a range of around 470-480km on a single charge. It will also be available with a solar roof, meaning the car can be parked in the sun and charge without needing to be plugged in – a great leap forward in electric vehicles’ usability. The Ioniq 5 is slated to be released in Q3 of 2021.
With the Jaguar I-Pace being available since 2018, the luxury English car maker is one of the first high-end car brands making serious strides towards net-zero emissions and electric vehicle-only fleets. As of February 2021, Jaguar Land Rover (the company name) is promising to make only electric cars from 2025 for the Jaguar brand, and also offer electric versions of the Land Rover range by 2024. This is likely in large part due to the UK announcing a ban on the selling of conventional internal combustion engines by 2030 and hybrid vehicles by 2035.
Originally announcing their EV plans to be completed by 2027, Kia Motors has now committed to 11 electric vehicle releases to join their fleet by 2026. The South Korean car manufacturer has also recently released images of the planned 2022 EV6 (pictured), the first of the 11 cars announced. The car will be built on Hyundai Motor Group’s Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP).
Mazda Australia will launch their Mazda MX-30 to Australian consumers in 2021, with the hybrid version being purportedly available in the first half of 2021 and the all electric version being available in the middle of the year. Whilst Mazda has not confirmed much more in relation to further EV releases, as one of the highest selling car manufacturers in Australia, the hybrid and all-electric SUV models will likely create a lot of interest. Mazda has also stated that they intend to achieve a 90 percent reduction on 2010 emissions by 2050.
The famed German car manufacturer will be introducing 10 new electric vehicles through its EQ subrand by the end of 2022, with the Mercedes-Benz EQC being available to consumers from December of 2019. The all-electric EQA compact SUV (pictured) has been announced and will likely be launched in mid- to late-2021, with the EQS electric sedan being teased but given no official release date.
Mitsubishi currently has no available electric vehicles available to the market, indicating that they will place their primary focus on hybrid vehicles such as the Mitsuibishi Outlander plug-in hybrid EV (PHEV) and the soon-to-be-released Eclipse Cross SUV PHEV. Mitsubishi has also stated that they intend to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
Leading the pack currently with their Leaf model – the first mass produced EV – and having sold more than half a million cars worldwide, Nissan have long been contributing to Australia’s EV future. In the United States, Nissan has committed to eight new models added to their fleet by 2023. Nissan Australia has gone with a different metric, saying that 30 percent of its domestic portfolio will be electrified by 2023. Nissan has also stated that they intend to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
The Porsche Taycan range will be the first all-electric vehicle range from the car maker. Porsche have been relatively tightlipped on their future intentions, not having made any concrete commitments like other car brands. That being said, these exciting car releases indicate that Porsche is definitely keen to get a slice of the EV pie.
This car maker needs no introduction. The US-based, all-electric car manufacturer has made many headlines over the last decade. With the Tesla Model S, Model 3 and Model X already hitting the pavement in Australia, Tesla has big plans with the recently announced Model 2 and Model Y.
Long having produced the Prius and RAV-4 Hybrid, Toyota has not been clear on their ambitions for an electric future. In 2017, it promised to roll out 10 all-electric vehicle models by the early 2020s, but this promise has yet to materialise with commentators suggesting that Toyota are dragging their proverbial feet. Although this may be the case, the Japanese auto manufacturer announced a joint development program with Japanese rival manufacturer Subaru (which Toyota owns a stake in), with rumours of an all-electric SUV to be released to market in 2021. Toyota recently announced the concept Aygo X prologue (pictured above), but with no set date or indication as to whether the electric vehicle will enter full scale production and availability on Australian shores. Toyota has also released the Toyota Mirai, a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle with the module having the capacity to be adapted and used in trucks, buses and even trains. As of Q1 of 2021, Toyota does not have any fully electric vehicles available for purchase in Australia.
Arguably the most ambitious move of all the major car manufacturers, Volkswagen has announced that they intend to launch a whopping 70 new electric models by 2028, 20 more than their original announcement. As the world’s number-two carmaker, the announcement will play a huge role in the global shift toward electric vehicle uptake. Volkswagen has also announced their intention to invest in six large battery factories in Europe, placing Tesla – the current market leader in electric vehicles – well within their sights.
Have more burning questions about EVs? Check out our other article where we get you up to speed on FAQs about electric vehicles (pun intended).
