Several electric sedans will hit the market in the coming months. What to overshadow the armies of SUVs?
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but as manufacturers flood the market with electric SUVs, for various reasons already mentioned several times, riding in this type of machine seems increasingly unpopular.
Accused of all evils (polluting, being dangerous for pedestrians, taking up too much space, etc.), SUVs are also now the target of hordes of “activists” who have found nothing better than deflate their tires to supposedly save the planet when parked. The worst part is that electric SUVs are no exception to these somewhat stupid actions. That being the case, nothing very surprising, political environmentalism having declared war on the car for a long time, whatever its mode of propulsion, and it is certain that the electric will not escape its secular arm for very long. Next will probably come e-bikes, then muscle bikes. Then the shoes.
So, will the sedans long escape the blind vindictiveness of these Che Guevaras of the valve? Not sure. In the meantime, they don’t seem to have caught the attention of their avenging hand yet.
All the more reason to take a look at the current market and draw up a small inventory of the forces present, with promising new products that are about to land by 2023. In fact, if we count the current models already marketed in Europe, such as the Tesla Model 3 and S, the Porsche Taycan, the Audi e-tron GT, the Mercedes EQS and the BMW i4, we can count on more than a dozen electric sedans available, say in the 18 coming months. I don’t know about you, but personally it makes me happy.
What cars are we talking about? Of these.
Hyundai Ioniq 6
Unveiled gradually as part of a teaser that lasted several months, the Ioniq 6 was finally officially presented in its final dress at the end of June. We were there. So of course, as very often in this case, the version that will be marketed no longer quite resembles the first living room prototypes, but the idea is there. That of a fairly long car (nearly 5 meters) and very streamlined, with a line that does not leave anyone indifferent – which means without language of wood that we love or hate – a front end with a very eighties design and an interior that presents all the trappings of an excellent premium. The machine will probably take up the characteristics of the Ioniq 5, whose E-GMP platform it shares, with in particular an 800-volt architecture which allows very fast recharging and a 77 kW battery, guaranteeing a range which could reach 600 kilometers ( so between 400 and 450 in real life, which is already not so bad).
Audi A6 e-tron
The manufacturer with the four rings has made it a priority to go electric, and promises a fully electrified range in 2030. The transition is already well under way since Audi already has no less than 3 models and 6 100% electric versions in its catalog. However (see above), four out of the six models are currently SUVs, and Audi does not intend to forget its customers accustomed to large, comfortable sedans. The Audi A6 e-tron concept presented in 2021 in Shanghai is timely and shows what the midsize – and electric – sedan of the future will look like. If we are to believe the figures put forward by the brand, the sedan, which looks superb if its line is faithful to the concept unveiled, will be able to travel around 700 km on a single charge according to the WLTP figures. The Audi A6 e-tron is expected to arrive in 2023.
BMW i7
After the i4, which has been arriving for the first customers for a few months, and which has met with good critical success, BMW has proven that it is learning quickly in its transition to electric. And it’s only just begun, since the Bavarian manufacturer is already preparing the arrival of an electric 7 Series, simply called i7. The design is likely to be quite devastating (if it does not fall into some somewhat heavy flaws glimpsed in particular on its electric SUVs), but of course the level of luxury of this new great German should continue the tradition of excellence of the Series 7, in electric version, and necessarily very high-tech. In terms of power and autonomy, BMW announces 544 hp and more than 600 km of range. At a high price of course since it will cost at least 135,000 euros for a “basic” version, but already richly endowed.
mercedes eqe
In terms of finishes (obviously), size, equipment, driving pleasure, comfort and autonomy, the Mercedes EQE could well represent something like the ideal electric sedan. This mid-range flagship announces a range ranging from 459 to 712 kilometers depending on the version, and its latest generation MBUX infotainment system promises to be one of the most advanced on the market, especially when it is displayed on the Hyperscreen, this impressive touch screen that covers the entire dashboard. Even if Mercedes puts a lot of effort into hiding its prices, whether on its site or on the “Prices” brochure to download in PDF on which… they do not appear, we know that the EQE will start at 75,000 euros if rely on the configurator. Clearly not Mr. Everyman’s car, but ultimately relatively reasonable in terms of the benefits of the beast.
Volkswagen ID.AERO
A good “classic” sedan that won’t really surprise you with the audacity of its shapes or that of its technical characteristics, but that will surely do the job. Volkswagen has struggled a little to deploy its first electric models, with in particular a promising ID.3, but which may have arrived a little too soon with its share of teething problems, particularly in terms of the finishes and the reliability of its on-board computing. . All of this now seems to be a thing of the past, and the lineage is affirmed with the ID.4 and ID.5. The future ID.7 sedan shows a successful pencil stroke, which also translates into a CX of 0.23 and an efficiency that would allow around 600 kilometers of autonomy.
Lucid Air
An “exotic” car and not yet marketed in Europe, but it will not be long since the American manufacturer has recently inaugurated a representation in Germany. The Lucid Air is a bit of the electric sedan of all superlatives. More powerful than a last generation Tesla Model S, it also offers better autonomy, up to being the production car with the longest range in the world with more than 830 kilometers according to the EPA standard (therefore even more according to the European WLTP standard). This car represents the best of today’s electric sedans, so much so that it literally bewitched our colleague Soufyane during his exclusive trial a few weeks ago. Of course, skeptics will retort that “more” is not necessarily “better” and that a car of this weight, this power and this price is not really in line with the desired sobriety when one is concerned a bit of the environment.
NIO ET7
Already available in Norway, the NIO ET7 is a Chinese sedan (sorry, but it’s a bit unavoidable on the market that interests us) offering many advantages. It has two motors, one at the front and one at the rear. These combine a power of 480 kW, or 650 horsepower, and the sedan has a torque of 850 Nm. Thanks to this cavalry, the electric sedan can go from 0 to 100 km / h in 3.9 seconds. But the Nio ET7 could also make the difference with its three battery packs with a capacity of 70 kWh, 100 kWh and 150 kWh, which would allow it autonomy ranging from 500 to 1,000 kilometers.
XPeng P7
Come on, a little last one – also Chinese – for the road, and not the least. A sedan without huge surprises on the line side, but which also has some under the hood. I had the opportunity to sit on board for a first static handling during the EVS35 show in Oslo last June and I was impressed by two things: the level of finish and comfort on board , and the fluidity and number of operating system commands. Not to mention the option of electric opening of the front scissor doors by simply pressing the central screen (or by voice command). Not really essential, but which becomes so if you want to show off a bit. Already available also in Norway, it offers two engines. The first is a propulsion version that displays 196 kW of power, or 266 horsepower. The second version has four-wheel drive and two motors for a total power of 410 horsepower.
Sony Vision-S 01
The surprise of CES in Las Vegas 2020, or when an electronics giant boasts of launching an electric car (and connected, of course). What initially looked like a pure exercise in style has become in a few months a concept very close to reality, and we now know that Sony will produce this car in association with Honda. Or an elegant sedan with lines that evoke in turn the Porsche Taycan or the Hyundai Ioniq 6. In terms of performance, we would be on an honorable 0 to 100 km / h in 4.8 seconds and a top speed of 240 km / h. We don’t know anything about the autonomy, however, and the release date goes a little beyond the scope of this article since we are talking about 2025. But it was worth mentioning it… and maybe waiting.
In conclusion
That’s it, that’s all for the moment, but it’s already not bad, even if you will have noticed that no French woman appears in this inventory, and that we don’t see a trace of them on the horizon, even distant. That being said, we will content ourselves with this list while of course waiting for the really ideal sedan, the one we all want, which will therefore have the line of an Audi, the efficiency of a Tesla, the finish of a Mercedes, the charging power of a Hyundai and the in-car technology of a Lucid. All for less than 40,000 euros of course, all options included. And French if possible, let’s be crazy.
Where do we sign?