Piers Bambridge
11 September 2023
Ever wondered what new electric cars are coming out soon?
We bring you the top 5 electric cars you may never have heard of, with the focus on cars that we believe are set to make waves in the months and years to come…
Ora Funky Cat
How to summarise the Ora Funky Cat?
• It is cheap
• It is an EV
• Did we mention it is cheap?
The Chinese brand launched earlier in 2023 as an unashamedly cheap alternative to the narrative that “EVs are expensive”. Think what Dacia did to combustion cars a few years ago, and take a Chinese slant to this. It remains to be seen how long they will last, and it is fair to say that driver reviews have been mixed, but if you want an EV starting at £23,000, you probably know what you’re letting yourself in for. It’s great to see one of the cheapest new cars available to buy being a battery-powered electric vehicle.
Fisker Ocean
Founder Daniel Fisker once launched an electric car company, raised billions in funding and then watched it crash and burn as the market and the technology simply wasn’t ready for his vision. A story of what might have been? Well, maybe what still will be…
Fisker now have a UK-ready model, branded the Ocean, available from £35,990 and with an industry-leading EV range of 440 miles. We predict this is going to be a HUGE hit in 2024 and beyond, as long as they can prove reliable.
BYD Dolphin
Did you know the second biggest EV manufacturer in the world was a Chinese manufacture called BYD (it stands for ‘Build Your Dreams’ by the way).
We don’t know how successful the BYD range will be in the UK, and there is an argument they are a little late to the party started (and dominated) by MG in the UK this year in terms of cheap, attractive EVs, but few would bet against them making a serious impact on the EV market in 2024.
Audie A6 E-Tron
If there is one style of car that has been chronically overlooked by manufacturers of EVs, it is the family estate.
Next year will see this change, with the German manufacturer who have long been famous for the performance estates such as the RS6 or the RS4 bringing a new model to the fore, the A6 E-Tron with a rumoured battery range of 430 miles.
Rivian R1T and R1S
You might think that reaching a valuation of $127 billion in 2021 meant Rivian was a household name already, but you’d be forgiven for wondering what all the hype was about (and analysts have come to agree with the company losing 90% of its value by April 2023).
However, Amazon have ordered 100,000 of the Rivian Amazon delivery vans to arrive by 2030, and this summer saw the first arrive in Europe.
With the R1S offering the potential to create an all-electric 7-seater for the Discovery drivers amongst us, and the R1T offering a truly all-electric pick-up truck, Rivian have the ability to fill two market segments clearly under-supplied in the current EV choice.
The big question is when will the Rivian R1T or Rivian R1S arrive in the UK? Rumours are we should be able to order them in 2024, but watch this space for more information…
