Make no mistake, the electric car is no longer a thing of the future. Indeed, it’s very much a thing of now.
The French capital city of Paris was the first to say it will ban the sales of petrol and diesel cars, which will be outlawed from the city from 2030. Here in the UK, we went one further, saying that cars with petrol and diesel-only powertrains will be banned from going on sale completely by 2040.
Away from the scaremongering future predictions, though, little has changed. Already, most carmakers have a hybrid, plug-in or electric car in their model line-ups, and such is the speed of battery development that, by the time the ban comes in, such technology will be the norm. After all, today’s cars will have mostly been and gone 23 years from now.
But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be adopting the technology as it develops, and already both Volvo and Jaguar Land Rover have committed to hybrid or electric-only powertrains from as soon as 2020.
Between them, they’re leading the charge towards the car industry’s electric future. Here are our top five future cars for 2020 that we firmly believe deserve a plug…
Jaguar I-PACE
Jaguar has already shown the I-PACE as a concept car, and has committed to putting it into production by the end of the decade. Billed as a five-door, five-seater sports car, the I-PACE has chunky, almost SUV-style looks, with a short nose and long, wide passenger compartment to help maximise space.
The interior draws inspiration from models such as the XE, XF and F-PACE SUV, but with a futuristic digital dashboard display.
Power in the concept car comes from a 90kWh battery with two electric motors, producing the equivalent of 400bhp and 700Nm of torque, enough for a supercar-baiting 0-60mph time of just four seconds.
Volvo XC Electric
Volvo will bring in two firsts by the end of the decade – it’s first car to be all electric, and its first to be built entirely in its factory in China.
The Swedish brand is owned by Chinese industrial giant Geely, which has also just invested US$750 million in Volvo’s sister brand, Polestar, which it will pitch as an upmarket rival to Tesla.
Volvo’s first pure EV is likely to be based on the new XC40, however, and will be on sale across Europe by 2020.
Volkswagen ID
The Volkswagen ID was previewed in 2016 at the Paris Motor Show, hot on the heels of the German maker’s unfortunate emissions scandal.
The ID – due by 2020 - will be ‘as revolutionary as the Beetle’ according to Volkswagen, which is investing two billion US dollars into developing it and other electric cars. Among its key features will be a 300km minimum range and fast-charge time of less than 90 minutes.
The concept car also has a number of self-driving features, though these aren’t expected to see production until 2025.
Tesla Model 3
Technically, the Tesla Model 3 is on sale now, but thanks to huge demand for the new model, if you place your order now you won’t actually see it until 2020. And that’s in the USA. Sales in Europe have yet to even begin.
That’s hardly surprising, though. The Model 3 costs just US$35,000 (approximately £26,500), making it no more expensive than most conventional family hatchbacks.
It uses much of the tech from the larger Model S, and has a futuristic interior. Tesla remaisn tight-lipped on when European sales will commence, but we expect the car to reach these shores by the end of the decade. By then, Tesla will also have launched its Model Y, a compact SUV. Expect even longer waiting lists…
Find out how much you can save on a new Tesla today
Ford CUV
Rumour has it that we’ll get the first glimpse of Ford’s first fully electric car as early as January 2018, either at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, or at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Either way, the model is highly anticipated, as Ford is planning its first full EV to be a crossover.
Midway in size between the Edge and the EcoSport, the CUV EV will be ‘affordable’ and ‘mainstream’, according to the Blue Oval’s Chief Technology Officer, Raj Nair.
