1. Aptera 2e
If you have been paying attention to the world of electric car start-ups, you’ve heard of Aptera. Although the company’s original intention of reaching volume production by the end of last year never came to fruition, the Aptera 2e lives on. According to recent reports, you can expect to see this car hitting the roads in “volume” by October of 2009.
When: Late 2009 (California Only)
How Much: $20-40K, depending on options
How Far: 100-120 Miles on one charge
2. ZAP Alias
Like the Aptera 2e, the ZAP Alias will sport a design conjured from the bowels of an alien spaceship. Although ZAP just started construction on the facility that will build the Alias last September, the company still swears that the first of these funky 3 wheelers will start rolling off the assembly line by late 2009.
When: Late 2009
How Much: Under $35K
How Far: 100+ Miles on one charge
To be honest, I’ll be blown away if ZENNactually meets the stated delivery date on this one, but if they do… world watch out! ThecityZENN with an EEStor energy storage device on board may not be the prettiest kid on the block… but does a 5 minute recharge time coupled with a 250 mile range sound like a game changer to you? I thought so.
When: Late 2009
How Much: Under $30K
How Far: 250 Miles on one charge
Perhaps the most affordable of all straight up electric cars coming to the US in 2009, theTh!nk City will more than likely sport a battery lease program which will cut down on up front costs and allow you to get a new battery without paying out the yin yang when the old one kicks the bucket. Even though Th!nk has been going through some serious financial problems as of late, it seems that they’ve been given enough of a reprieve to make it through the world financial meltdown — although their target US release date of sometime in 2009 may not be accurate anymore.
When: Sometime in 2009
How Much: Under $25K
How Far: 110 Miles on one charge
With the introduction of the new 2009 Prius at the Detroit Auto Show, Toyota also had a bit of a surprise announcement — a plug-in version of the prius will be available to fleets by October of this year. Although this initial release is only a limited test run, I’d imagine that we will see these plug-in Priuses hitting the general consumer market in the 2010 timeframe. Don’t be too floored yet though, purportedly the test mules can only go 10 miles on battery power alone.
When: Limited release October 2009; general 2010
How Much: Unknown, but you can bet there’ll be a decent price premium above the standard Prius so expect it to be around $28-30K.
How Far: 10 Miles on battery power alone, unknown mileage after battery is drained but probably better than the standard Prius’ 50 MPG.
If you live in the US, unless you’ve been living in a cave, I’m willing to bet good money that you’ve heard of the Volt. Otherwise known as GM’s sole hope for convincing the US taxpayer to fund a bailout, the Volt actually looks like a very impressive work of engineering. And, to be frank, it’s the only car from a major US automaker in the last 30 years that I would actually consider buying. If GM makes it to the finish line and the Volt reaches the market, there’s a newfederal tax credit of $7,500 that might actually make the thing affordable too.
When: Late 2010
How Much: Estimates have fallen somewhere between $30-48K (then subtract $7,500 for the federal tax credit)
How Far: 40 Miles on battery power alone, something like 50 MPG after that.
Although the Karma is truly a play toy for the wealthy, you have to admit, if you have the money to buy one of these things, you have a family, and you care about the planet, this may be the perfect car for you. Having just opened a huge design center in Michigan, Fisker seems to be in a good position to deliver on its promises.
When: Second half 2010
How Much: Around $87K
How Far: 50 Miles on battery power alone, total fuel economy of more than “100 MPG.”
Another play toy for the wealthy, the upcomingTesla Model S promises to be a cheaper follow-up to the instantly recognizable Tesla Roadster. Adding two doors and room for a family while at the same time knocking a ton of money off the price of the Roadster, the Model S has the potential to be a knock out hit with the upper middle class. Tesla has hit a bit of a rough patch with cash flow recently, which may impact the actual delivery date of the Model S. If you want to see a rendered image of what the Model S might look like, you’ll have to click here.
When: Late 2010
How Much: Around $60K
How Far: 240 Miles on one charge
At first everybody thought the 2009 Mini Elimited lease meant that a future general market electric car release from the BMW Group would be, of course, a Mini E. But after much acclaim, it turns out that the Mini E is purely a test bed for an upcoming BMW branded electric car and that the Mini E will never see full production. No details are known about any of these future BMW electric models.
When: Sometime in 2010
How Much: Unknown
How Far: Unknown
