It’s fair to say that sales of electric cars disappointed in 2023. Although the total number of cars sold was a record, that was in a growing market. In terms of market share, 2023 was no better than 2022.
The EV share of the UK new car market was just under 17% in 2023, exactly the same as it had been a year earlier. Given the ever-increasing number of models to choose from, and improving price competitiveness against petrol cars, expectations had been higher.
That said, EVs are comfortably the second most popular form of power source, after petrol. EVs outsell hybrids and plug-in hybrids, while diesel cars are rapidly disappearing from new car showrooms altogether.
The shift from fossil fuels to electricity is well underway, however, and almost certainly past the point of no return. EV development shows no signs of slowing, with even more new cars heading for UK streets right across the market.
So if you are considering buying a new EV, you need to know whether you should be heading for your favourite brand’s showroom now, or waiting for a forthcoming new model. Read on…
Existing brands
Most of the car companies you already know are currently shifting from fossil-fuel vehicles to electric ones. Here’s what they already have on the market and what they’ll be bringing to showrooms over the next 12 months.
Abarth
Fiat’s sporty sub-brand Abarth launched its first EV in 2023, a more powerful version of its parent’s highly popular 500e small car. That won’t change in 2024. While Fiat’s electric successor to the 500X – the 600e – will reach the UK very soon, the Abarth version won’t arrive for another year. But when it does, it will be Abarth’s most powerful model yet, with the equivalent of 240hp on offer.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- None
Alfa Romeo
This time last year we wrote that a date for Alfa’s first EVs had still not been revealed but the initial offerings were likely to be SUVs and a replacement for the Giulia saloon. Well the new Giulia is coming, and will still be a saloon in an increasingly SUV-dominated world, but it won’t go on sale until next year.
By that time, however, the brand’s first electric model will already be on sale. The Alfa Romeo Milano is due in the middle of this year and is a small SUV that shares its underpinnings with a number of electric Peugeot/Citroën/Vauxhall models.
EVs on sale now
- None
EVs launching this year
- Alfa Romeo Milano
Alpine
We haven’t featured Renault’s sports-focused sub-brand in this annual feature before as it’s offered no EVs, but the first might just sneak in by the end of the year.
The A290 is a sporty small car, based on the upcoming Renault 5 and designed to offer the fun of Alpine’s current only model, the evocative but not very practical A110. In 2025 the A290 will be joined by the GT X-Over, which as its name suggests is an electric crossover targeting the likes of Ford’s Mustang Mach-e.
EVs on sale now
- None
EVs launching this year
- Alpine A290
Aston Martin
It’s more than a year since Aston Martin stated that its first EV would launch in 2025, and nothing appears to have changed that plan – in fact the car, a new SUV, might not arrive until late next year. Last October the brand secured £9 million from the UK government to help develop the underpinnings for both the SUV and a GT model that will follow it.
Audi
Audi has offered a range of EVs for a while now and one of its core models, the Q4 e-tron, received a major update in September 2023 that added better efficiency, faster charging and more kit. The e-tron GT saloon will also get the facelift treatment later this year, while there will also be a couple of new models joining the range.
The Q6 e-tron is, as its name suggests, an SUV sitting between the current Q4 and Q8 models. It’s built on the same platform as the all-new, all-electric Porsche Macan. Later in the year, we should see the A6 Avant e-tron – this sleek looking EV ushers in Audi’s new design style and is likely to attract a lot of interest as executive buyers haven’t been able to buy much in the way of electric cars with estate bodies up to now.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- Audi e-tron GT (facelift)
- Audi Q6 e-tron
- Audi A6 Avant e-tron
Bentley
Bentley has been working for some time on its first EV and we hear the planned introduction in 2025 might slip a year, followed by the launch of new all-electric models each year until 2030. The brand is saying very little about the initial electric car but some rumours suggest it will have the equivalent of 1,500hp and a 1.5-second 0-62mph time…
BMW
BMW’s already-strong range of electric cars expanded in 2023, with the i5 and i7 saloons joining the line-up and immediately both winning awards in The Car Expert’s Car of the Year Awards 2024. The i5 went on sale before the petrol and hybrid versions of what is widely regarded as the German brand’s most significant car.
There is more to come in 2024. While the i5 saloon has only just arrived on UK roads, the estate version (Touring in BMW-speak) is due to be unveiled any moment now and will probably land in the UK by the middle of the year.
We can also expect the iX2, an electric version of the new X2 small coupe-SUV, and a facelifted version of the i4, BMW’s slinky electric saloon based on the 4 Series Gran Coupé.
EVs launching this year
- BMW i4 (facelift)
- BMW iX2
- BMW i5 Touring
BYD
Chinese brand BYD (Build Your Dreams) only arrived in the UK midway through 2023 but has already opened several dealers, including a flagship outlet on London’s Mayfair. It has also launched three models in that time, the latest being the Seal saloon that takes aim at the hugely successful Tesla Model 3.
The big launch in 2024 will be the Seal U, turning said saloon into a big SUV with no less potency and the same keen pricing which has turned a lot of interest BYD’s way.
What will follow it is yet to be revealed – the brand unveiled the Sea Lion 07, another SUV in its ‘Ocean’ series in China in November. We think the chances are high that this car, a rival to the Tesla Model Y, will come to the UK.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- BYD Seal U
Citroën
Citroën already boasts an EV range of four mainstream models, led by the its ë-C4 hatchback and its jacked-up sister, the ë-C4 X. The other two are electric versions of the van-based people-carriers, the Berlingo and SpaceTourer. In addition, there’s also the tiny Ami city runabout, which technically isn’t a car but a quadricycle.
Just one new electric model is expected in 2024 and not until the end of the year, but the ë-C3 will be significant. Offered initially as a hatchback with an Aircross crossover variant following later, the C3 will according to its makers be Europe’s cheapest EV. It likely won’t cost less than the Dacia Spring, also coming this year, but the Dacia is made in China…
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- Citroën ë-C3
Cupra
SEAT spin-off brand Cupra had a quiet year in 2023, focusing on its only EV, the Born family hatch. Matters will likely remain that way for much of 2024, though we expect before the end of the year to see the oddly-named Tavascan, the brand’s first SUV and in sporty coupe format.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- Cupra Tavascan
Dacia
The Renault-owned Romanian budget brand Dacia has until now focused on offering bargain basement fossil-fuel models rather than joining the rush to electrification, but we expect that to change towards the end of 2024 with the arrival of the Spring.
Already on sale in other markets, the Spring is a small SUV likely to be priced at less than £20,000 but with a range of under 140 miles. We also hear Dacia is having to work on the quality of the car’s interior before putting it before UK buyers.
EVs on sale now
- None
EVs launching this year
- Dacia Spring
DS Automobiles
Citroën’s lifestyle-pitched spin-off DS Automobiles has concentrated on offering its compact crossover the DS 3 to electric buyers over the past year, the model facelifted in late 2022. Not a lot will change through much of this year but the brand has said that every new model launched from 2024 will be electric, bringing forward its plans from 2027.
The first of these newcomers is expected to be a new DS 4 E-Tense, a mid-size car (not to be confused with the previous DS 4 E-Tense, which was a plug-in hybrid).
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- DS 4 E-Tense
- Who or what is DS Automobiles?
- More DS Automobiles news, Expert Ratings, new car reviews and features
Fiat
Fiat went through 2023 with just its 500e supermini waving the electric flag, but proving a perennially popular model. It’s set to get some siblings in 2024.
First of these is the 600e, which replaces the previous 500X model. It may also be offered as a petrol/electric hybrid at a later date. Next is a new version of the Panda, one of Fiat’s best-known models, which is on the way but not until the end of the year. Apparently it’s going to have a ‘retro’ design and be cheaper than its 500e sister, and will also be offered with both electric and petrol drivetrains.
Most intriguing is the imminent revival of the Topolino, another of Fiat’s classic model names. The original Fiat 500, launched in 1936, was often known as the Topolino, and the new tiny runabout will be retro-styled as a result, though underneath it’s simply a restyled Citroën Ami, produced by its fellow brand in the giant Stellantis monolith.
Fisker
US electric brand Fisker joins the list of EV sellers having arrived in the UK in 2023 with its Ocean SUV (not be confused with the Ocean series of cars offered by equally new Chinese brand, BYD). Nothing new is likely to appear in 2024, but next year we expect to see the Pear, a new family hatch pitched as an entry-level EV.
EVs on sale now
- Fisker Ocean
EVs launching this year
- None
Ford
Ford may be one of the biggest brands in the UK but has hardly rushed to jump on the electric bandwagon, the only activity in 2023 seeing the sole EV, the Mustang Mach-E, gain a more potent GT variant.
We’ll see another Mustang Mach-E version this year, the Rally, with more power and off-road-pitched chassis upgrades. But more significant will be the arrival – likely towards the end of the year – of the new Ford Explorer. Adopting a model name more familiar to Ford buyers in the US, this is a five-seat SUV, based on the Volkswagen ID.4 and targeting the likes of the Skoda Enyaq and Kia EV6.
There’s a second electric Ford crossover on the way too, the smart money saying it will resurrect a model name much more familiar to UK buyers – Capri. This won’t owe that much to the saloon beloved of 1970s cop dramas, but will instead be one of those ‘almost coupe-like’ SUVs with the likes of the Polestar 2 in its sights.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- Ford Explorer
- Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally
- Ford Capri
Genesis
The three-strong Genesis EV range continued without additions through 2023, as the company went through restructuring and a move back under the wing of its parent company, Hyundai. It also started rolling out proper dealerships, in addition to its studio-style spaces in high-profile locations.
As of right now, we don’t have any intelligence on any electric Genesis models joining the line-up in 2024. That means that its two main EVs, the GV60 and GV70 Electrified, will be continuing to fly the Genesis flag this year. The G80 Electrified saloon is a lovely car, but essentially only a niche model even within the niche brand that is Genesis.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- None
GWM Ora
What is GWM? It stands for Great Wall Motors, a Chinese brand that has been around for a good while now – just not in the UK. In 2023, GWM launched its new electric brand on these shores, called GWM Ora. Its first model is a small hatch, the ‘Funky Cat’.
Now there was quite a lot to like about the small hatch but many reviewers couldn’t get past the name and the makers have taken note – the brand is now GWM Ora and the Funky Cat has been renamed Ora 03.
First move in 2024 is to add an extra version of the Ora 03 with a larger (and therefore longer-range) battery. Later in the year, we’ll see the Ora 07, a saloon offering an alternative to the Hyundai Ioniq 6 and Tesla model 3.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- GWM Ora 03 (longer-range)
- GWM Ora 07
Honda
A long-time advocate of hybrid powertrains, Honda has been slow to the all-electric party. Its first full EV was the Honda e two-seater city car, which appeals for its styling but offers a range considered fairly paltry in today’s market.
In October 2023, the e was joined by a sister using effectively the same hardware in a compact SUV package, which during a day off in the marketing department was signed off as the Honda e:Ny1 (“anyone”, geddit?). One good point is that the battery range is vastly superior at around 250 miles, almost double that of the two-seater.
We don’t expect to see anything new in the EV line from Honda in 2024. The brand has said for some time that it is working on a range of “revolutionary new EVs” called the 0 Series, but the first of these is not expected to arrive until 2026.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- None
Hyundai
Hyundai has been right in the middle of the EV sales battle since launching the first of its electric models, the Ioniq, back in 2017. Now the Korean brand offers the Ioniq 5 SUV and Ioniq 6 saloon, as well as electric variants of the Kona crossover in two battery sizes.
We expected to see a performance-pitched variant of the 5 under the brand’s N badging late in 2023, but that’s now arriving in early 2024. Later in the year, Hyundai should launch its Ioniq 7, the brand’s equivalent to the recently launched EV9 from sister brand Kia.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
- Hyundai Ioniq 7
Jaguar
Just one EV continued to feature in the Jaguar range through 2023, the I-Pace ‘performance SUV’ as the classic British badge continued to work with sister Land Rover on an all-new electric platform to go under a range of new models from both brands.
Some £2.5 billion has been poured into a new EV plant being built in Solihull, Birmingham and the first car out of it is expected to be a four-door GT with lots of range and lots of power. But it won’t arrive in showrooms until 2025.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- None
Jeep
Jeep’s first EV went on sale in early 2023, the Avenger winning the European Car of the Year Award. Initially it was only sold in two-wheel-drive form (a Jeep that’s not four-wheel-drive, bound to upset the traditionalists…) but in 2024 it will be joined by a proper 4×4 version.
A second all-electric Jeep is on the way. Called the Recon, it will aim to steal sales from the likes of Land Rover’s Defender with its tempting features reportedly including the equivalent of close to 600hp. But you won’t see it in UK showrooms until 2025.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- Jeep Avenger 4×4
KGM
Who? KGM is the snappy new name for what was Korean manufacturer SsangYong. The rebrand happened at the end of 2023 after the debt-ridden maker was sold and saved from bankruptcy.
The first totally KGM launch will be the Torres. Sized between the Korando and the much larger Rexton, it will follow the Korando format by being offered in combustion and electric powertrain options, and could go on sale as early as April. The electric version, dubbed the EVX, will get a more heavily styled front end to distinguish it.
KGM is also working on an electric pick-up truck and another SUV, after its parent company signed an electric powertrain agreement with Chinese maker BYD. Concept versions of both have been unveiled at motor shows but it’s unclear whether either model will appear in the metal until 2025.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- KGM Torres EVX
Kia
Kia certainly made its presence felt in the electric market in 2023, the Korean brand’s well-received EV6 being followed by a big sister, the seven-seat EV9. Meanwhile the much older and more quirky Soul continued on sale with two electric power options, but its days are numbered.
The EV6 is expected to enjoy a subtle update sometime in 2024 but Kia’s latest extension to its EV line-up probably won’t hit showrooms until right at the end of the year at the earliest. The EV3 will be the smallest member of the line-up, slotting into the space left by the demise of the Soul and being rather more slippery than its box predecessor.
There’s also another new electric model, the EV5, in Kia’s plans but we won’t see that until at least 2025.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- Kia EV3
Land Rover
Land Rover’s electric plans are mostly waiting on the same development programme as is sister brand Jaguar. Some observers expected the first EV with a Land Rover badge to be a version of the recently relaunched Defender, but it is now expected that the electric pioneer will be the brand’s flagship model, the Range Rover.
Land Rover bosses are giving few details about the new model but a waiting list opened in December 2023 has already attracted more than 16,000 responses and the car is expected to launch in 2024.
The new Range Rover EV is said to offer no less off-road capability than its combustion-engined sister and Land Rover’s engineering head has said it will be “the quietest and most refined Range Rover yet.”
EVs on sale now
- None
EVs launching this year
- Range Rover EV
Lexus
Another long-time advocate of hybrid powertrains with sister brand Toyota, Lexus doubled its full-electric offerings in 2023 when the RZ SUV went on sale alongside its smaller sister the UX 300e.
At least two new electric models are in development and have been shown in concept form at the Tokyo motor show. The LF-ZC will be an upmarket electric saloon and the LF-ZL an SUV range-topper, but we don’t expect to see production versions of either until at least 2026.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- None
Lotus
There never seems to be much hurry about new model launches at Lotus, what we used to know as a renowned British sports car manufacturer. But no longer, as the new Lotus that is just going on sale now is the Eletre, an EV as its name suggests and described as the first Lotus ‘performance SUV’, rivalling the likes of the Porsche Macan. There’s also the 2,000hp Lotus Eviya hypercar, but they’re rare enough to make a Bugatti look common.
The Eletre marks the remoulding of Lotus into a producer of high-tech electric models and we should see the third new product sometime in 2024. The Emeya will be in more traditional Lotus territory, a saloon with more than 900hp in its most potent variant and with the Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan in its sights. Rumours also exist that an estate-bodied Emeya will join the line-up later.
EVs on sale now
- Lotus Eletre
- Lotus Eviya
EVs launching this year
- Lotus Emeya
Maserati
This time last year we wrote that Maserati’s first all-electric car should arrive in 2023, and we are still waiting. But first examples of the GranTurismo Folgore, a two-door coupe, should be on the roads early in the year, while the Gracale Folgore sports SUV is also now on sale with first deliveries expected this year.
More Maseratis wearing the brand’s Folgore moniker (it actually means ‘lightning’ in Italian) are on the way, with the GranCabrio Folgore following later this year and an electric version of the brand’s halo model, the MC20, coming in 2025.
EVs on sale now
- Maserati GranTurismo Folgore
- Maserati Grecale Folgore
EVs launching this year
- Maserati GranCabrio Folgore
Mazda
Mazda continues to pitch its belief that electric isn’t the only future option. As such, the only electric news of 2023 was the launch of a plug-in hybrid version of the Japanese brand’s only EV, the MX-30. This adds a small rotary engine, generating power to boost the battery’s minuscule range.
This attitude doesn’t look like changing just yet. Mazda is known to be working on a new electric platform under its Skyactiv programme, but we won’t see anything on this platform until at least 2025.
Meanwhile a concept for replacing the iconic Mazda MX-5 unveiled at the Tokyo motor show in October 2023 was fitted with the rotary-electric powertrain, which Mazda says is the perfect solution for a small sports car.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- None
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz has fully embraced the move to electric and continues to work through the alphabet with new models. This time last year there were six electric models buyers to choose from, and a couple more – the EQE SUV and EQS SUV – joined the line-up over the last year, although we also lost the EQC at the same time.
Things look much quieter in 2024. The EQT will go on sale, a van-based MPV with its hardware actually provided by Renault from its Kangoo range. More exciting to some will be the likely arrival of the EQG, an electric version of the veteran Mercedes go-anywhere 4×4, the G-Class.
The much-awaited electric version of the big-selling C-class saloon is not likely to arrive until 2025, while there are also rumours that Mercedes will stop adding the EQ suffix to its electric models before long.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- Mercedes-Benz EQT
- Mercedes-Benz EQG
MG
MG is facing the equivalent of difficult second-album syndrome. Having traded for a few years on less than exciting budget EVs, it launched the MG 4 in 2022 to waves of surprised delight from reviewers, a clutch of awards and strong sales as a result.
We are still waiting to see if the next MG EV will be as good and the brand plans to update its combustion offerings first. But one significant electric launch in 2024 will be the Cyberster, an electric drop-top sports car directly recalling the kind of cars the original MG was known for.
Meanwhile towards the end of 2024 we should see a new electric MG SUV, pitched as the brand’s flagship model and on UK sale in 2025. The MG 4 is also likely to get an update this year focusing particularly on the interior.
Mini
Mini revealed its all-new hatchback, to be called Cooper, at the end of 2023 to replace its original uninspiring electric model. The new model is built on a platform designed purely as an EV and offers two power options.
Some don’t like the fact that the electric Mini is being built in China, not at Cowley in Oxford where combustion Minis have come out of for many years. However, this should change in 2026 as the Oxford plant is retooled to build the new electric Mini Cooper. Also welcome is the news that the new electric Mini goes further than the old one between charges but still less than 200 miles.
Joining the line-up in 2024 is due to be an electric version of the Countryman SUV and later in the year a new Mini model, the Aceman – this is a crossover which will offer a battery option stretching the WLTP-certified range to just under 250 miles.
EVs on sale now
- Mini Cooper
EVs launching this year
- Mini Countryman
- Mini Aceman
Nissan
Nissan went through 2023 with no additions to its two-strong EV range, the pioneering Leaf hatchback and the Ariya SUV, launched in 2022.
It appears that there will be no big EV arrivals from the Japanese brand in 2024, either. We know that a successor to the Leaf and electric variants of the Juke and Qashqai SUVs are on the way because they are going to be built together at Nissan’s UK plant in Sunderland, but we won’t see any of these until well after 2024.
We also know that the next Nissan Micra supermini will be an electric-only model and we may get a first look at one in 2024 – but don’t expect it in showrooms until next year.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- Nissan Ariya Nismo
Peugeot
Peugeot strengthened its EV offerings at the end of 2023 when the e-308 started arriving in showrooms to join its smaller sister the e-208. The small car’s SUV version, the e-2008 continues on sale and in 2024 we expect to see the same treatment applied to the larger model with the launch of the e-3008.
This year should also see the unveiling of Peugeot’s largest electric SUV, the e-5008, while we are expecting a new electric version of the 408 coupe-styled SUV, though this might not be until early 2025. The e-208 will also undergo a significant facelift this year.
EVs on sale now
- Peugeot e-208
- Peugeot e-2008
- Peugeot e-308
- Peugeot e-Rifter
EVs launching this year
- Peugeot e-3008
Polestar
Volvo spin-off performance brand Polestar has attracted quite a bit of interest with its initial mainstream offering, the Polestar 2 but the car remained the only model in the brand throughout 2023, as the expected arrival of the Polestar 3 SUV slipped into 2024.
We now expect to see the 3 sometime this year to take on the likes of Audi’s Q8 e-tron and the Jaguar I-Pace, but the big news of 2024 is the unveiling of a smaller SUV sister, the Polestar 4. Revealed at the start of the year this has one feature that has created headlines for having no rear windscreen – a camera does the job of looking out the back instead and frees up more interior space as a result.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- Polestar 3
- Polestar 4
Porsche
Another year which has seen Porsche’s electric credentials relying on the Taycan SUV as the wait went on for the much-vaunted and much-delayed electric version of the Macan, also an SUV but rather more sporty.
The Macan EV has now been officially unveiled, but won’t go on sale until late in the year alongside the existing petrol versions of the car, which will remain on sale until late in 2025.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- Porsche Macan (EV)
Renault
Renault’s first EV, the Zoe, was finally axed at the end of 2023, officially to make way for the forthcoming re-imagination of the Renault 5 as an EV, though the Zoe’s recent zero-star Euro NCAP rating can’t have helped its long-term prospects.
We won’t see the new 5 until the end of the year as production can’t start until they move the last Zoe bits out of the factory at the end of March.
Renault EV sales currently rely on the Mégane E-Tech family car, though arriving very shortly is a crossover version of the car reviving the Scenic badge. A smaller crossover, dubbed the Renault 4, is expected in 2025.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- Renault Scenic E-Tech
- Renault 5
Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce has finally joined the ranks of the electric manufacturers with what many consider one of the most desirable EVs around. The Spectre, the replacement for the Wraith four-door coupe, offers the equivalent of 575hp which sends the huge car through 62mph in just over four seconds. The price tag is huge too, starting from around a third of a million…
What comes next from the Sussex super-luxury car manufacturer is yet to be confirmed, possibly a cabriolet version of the Spectre at the end of the year. Rolls-Royce stated in February 2023 that all of its product would be fully electric by the end of 2030.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- None
SEAT
Volkswagen’s Spanish brand SEAT continued to offer nothing in the way of electric cars in 2023 and that situation looks set to continue in 2024, the brand having effectively been nullified by its child, Cupra.
Mixed messages have been coming out of Volkswagen headquarters as to whether SEAT has a future though the most recent indications are that the brand will survive and launch an ‘urban EV’ sometime in 2025 – mind you this new model could still end up wearing a Cupra badge.
Skoda
Very little EV-related to report from the Volkswagen-owned Czech brand. The Enyaq, in both stock SUV and coupe-SUV form, continued to be Skoda’s only electric offering throughout 2023 and that might not change this year. However, things will start ramping up pretty quickly after that.
Skoda has teased a few details of no less than six new EVs it plans to launch by 2026. The first will be the Elroq, which will replace the current Karoq combustion SUV and might be unveiled before the end of 2024 with sales starting in 2025.
Both versions of the Enyaq are likely to be facelifted in 2025, with an EV hatchback, estate and seven-seat SUV also in the plans.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- None
Smart
Smart severed its last links with its past in 2023 when the Fortwo was finally dropped for the new #1 (yes, Hashtag one…), a small crossover that the brand’s traditional aficionados will likely consider far too normal to wear a Smart badge.
Arriving this year is the Smart #3, described as a “sports-utility coupe” and the largest car ever produced by Smart. It’s likely to be pitched against such cars as the Tesla Model Y and Skoda Enyaq.
Why no #2? Inside sources suggest there will be one, but not until at least 2025 – just to confuse matters it will effectively succeed the old Fortwo and therefore be the smallest Smart.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- Smart #3
Subaru
Subaru went through 2023 with just the one electric model, the Solterra SUV, which is simply a lightly restyled Toyota bZ4X. Unlike the Toyota, it’s only available in all-wheel-drive form but has helped vastly boost Subaru’s UK sales (although that wasn’t difficult…).
Despite this, the Japanese brand seems in no hurry to add to its electric offerings, with nothing new expected in Europe in 2024.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- None
Suzuki
Suzuki is another brand currently left behind in the rush to electric power. There are currently no electric models in its line-up and this likely won’t change in 2024.
There is an electric Suzuki coming – the eVX concept, which was displayed in updated form at the 2023 Tokyo motor show will likely reach production in 2025, again with Toyota contributing a lot of its electric expertise.
Tesla
Tesla, the one brand all buyers immediately associate with electric motoring, contented itself with updates to its core range in 2023. Its two biggest-selling models – the Model Y and Model 3 – remain on sale in the UK, but the Model S and Model X are now special-order models and only available in left-hand drive, which very much limits their appeal.
The pioneering American brand tends to continuously improve its cars through over-the-air updates rather than go for major facelifts, although the Model 3 did get a signifcant overhaul in late 2023.
There will be no all-new product from Tesla in 2024 though boss Elon Musk has indicated that a new small and much cheaper EV could start rolling out off the line in late 2025. This could have a sub-£25,000 starting price in the UK and may well be badged the Model 2.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- None
Toyota
Toyota’s sole electric offering alongside its various hybrids in 2023 was, for a second year, the bZ4X crossover. This situation is unlikely to change in 2024. We know that the production version of the bZ Sport crossover concept is on the way to rival the likes of the Hyundai Ioniq 6, but it likely won’t be in showrooms until 2025.
At the 2023 Tokyo motor show, the brand showed a pair of electric concepts, a radical SUV called the FT-3e and a sports car, the FT-Se, pitched as a spiritual successor to the MR-2. Both could well reach production but not in the coming year.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- None
Vauxhall
Vauxhall’s electric offerings multiplied in 2023 when the Corsa Electric small hatch was joined by the all-new Astra family car and the Mokka SUV in electric form, while the two van-based people-carriers, the Combo Life and Vivaro Life, continued to offer electric versions.
In 2024 the expansion continues, with firstly a longer-range version of the Mokka available to order from March. The Astra Sports Tourer (estate) also gets an electric model this year, while the Grandland may just squeeze in at the end of the year as an all-new electric SUV similar to sister brand Peugeot’s e-3008 and offering a range of ore than 400 miles.
Vauxhall is also said to be planning an entry-level city car, smaller than the Corsa electric and targeting the likes of the Renault 5, but we don’t expect to see this before 2025.
The company has confirmed that it will have electric versions of all its cars by the end of 2024, and will phase out all of its petrol and diesel models no later than 2028.
EVs on sale now
- Vauxhall Corsa Electric
- Vauxhall Astra Electric
- Vauxhall Mokka Electric
- Vauxhall Combo Life Electric
- Vauxhall Vivaro Life Electric
EVs launching this year
- Vauxhall Mokka Electric (longer range)
- Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer Electric
- Vauxhall Grandland Electric
Volkswagen
Volkswagen’s extensive electric line-up expanded further in 2023, with the ID.7 going on sale right at the end of the year as a replacement for the Passat and the ID.Buzz enjoying a proper year of sales as a modern version of the iconic microbus.
It doesn’t look as if we will be getting anything new in 2024, though work is underway on a small SUV likely to be called the ID.2 – although we won’t see that until 2026. The Up! city car could return as a new EV in the following year.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- None
Volvo
Volvo’s electric offerings continued to be two-strong in 2023 in the form of the C40 and XC40 Recharge. As we predicted the new large electric SUV, the EX90, didn’t quite make it into showrooms before the end of the year and it seems we will likely have to wait until nearer the end of 2024 to see one on the road.
Arriving in showrooms almost as these words are being written is the EX30, a small and highly aerodynamic electric SUV, while Volvo is also planning a large electric saloon, the ES90, which may be unveiled late in 2024 but won’t reach showrooms until 2025.
EVs on sale now
EVs launching this year
- Volvo EX90
New names
Part of the electric revolution is the proliferation of new car manufacturers hoping to muscle their way into the market. You may not have heard of these yet, but they’ll all be here in the UK soon.
Aiways
Aiways is one of the clutch of new Chinese brands flooding into the UK and is expected to get here in 2024, though how it will sell its cars is still to be revealed.
The first model is likely to be a compact crossover dubbed the U5 – it reputedly has loads of legroom especially for front-seat passengers as the maker doesn’t fit a glovebox to get in the way. A coupe-like SUV dubbed the U6 is also in Aiway’s plans but unlikely to be here before the end of 2024.
Lucid
In this report last year we stated that American brand Lucid was planning to arrive in the UK in late 2023 with its upmarket electric rival to the Mercedes S-Class, the Lucid Air.
That timetable has slipped a bit, and the brand expects to start taking orders for the Air this year with a UK launch in 2025. A Lucid electric SUV was also unveiled at the 2023 Los Angeles motor show, called the Gravity.
Nio
Nio is another Chinese manufacturer planning to launch not just models in the UK but whole brands. They will likely be called Nio, Alps and Firefly, and offer electric cars across the market with Firefly examples being particularly affordable.
The first UK-available Nio is set to be an SUV called the EL6 along with a Europe-developed hatchback rival to the Tesla Model 3 called the ET5. There is a chance that both will arrive before the end of 2024, though this might slip to 2025.
Omoda
Omoda is a new brand from Chinese automotive giant, Chery. It now intends to stake its claim in the UK in 2024 – the brand is pretty serious about it too, said to be seeking 100 dealers and some reports suggesting it could even build a UK production plant by 2030.
The first model on UK sale will likely be the Omoda 5, an SUV offered first in combustion-engined form with an EV variant following quickly behind.
Xpeng
Finally, yet another Chinese manufacturer, but one already established in Scandinavia and planning rapid expansion across Europe. The UK is included in these plans though likely not until right at the end of 2024.
The first car offered is likely to be the Xpeng G6 mid-sized SUV but with Xpeng having favoured signing up dealers to sell its cars rather than welling direct online, you probably won’t be able to buy one until 2025.
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