It would seem that the age of electric vehicles is finally upon us as every automaker that wants to be taken seriously is planning on heavily electrifying its lineup during the next decade. Some of them will go as far as to offer more electrics and hybrids than conventional models by the time everything is said and done.
In fact, projections show that battery-powered cars could account for more than 20 percent of new cars in the U.S. by 2030. All this considered, the number of upcoming plug-in hybrid and all-electric cars for MY 2020 is quite significant.
Here, we’ll take a peek at what the best upcoming 2020 electric cars might be. We’ll only consider conventional passenger cars this time (sedans, hatchbacks, coupes, roadsters, and wagons), as the best hybrid and electric SUV and crossovers 2020 will bring our way are covered in a separate article. Furthermore, we won’t shy away from including a hypercar or two as well.
08. 2020 Polestar 2
Volvo’s performance division is asserting candidacy for becoming a brand of its own. They’re planning on introducing no fewer than four all-new models by the time 2020 is over. The first of them – aptly named Polestar 1 – has already rolled off the factory lines in early 2019, whereas the second one is scheduled to arrive in early 2020, but has already made a debut in Geneva, in 2019.
What they’re lacking in names, the Polestars should deliver in quality and performance. Unlike the exorbitantly expensive Polestar 1 hybrid sports coupe, the Polestar 2 slots right in with the Tesla Model 3 and start from around $40,000 before the incentives.
This compact all-electric sedan poses a serious threat to the Tesla Model 3. Not only is it similarly priced, but it boasts as much as 311 miles of range while adding around 400 horsepower into the mix. Those are the initial specs of the more advanced models which should cost as much as $60,000, however. Specs of the model with smaller battery specifications still haven’t been disclosed.
The final product draws inspiration from the Volvo 40.2 Concept unveiled in 2016 and is built on the company’s Compact Modular Architecture platform (CMA). Although most people don’t associate the Polestar brand with Volvo, everyone can see that the Swedes are finally catching up. After the latest XC90 and S90 have finally pushed their luxury and quality to another level, the Polestars should position them as one of the major players on the EV market.
07. 2020 BMW i4
The aforementioned Polestar 2 won’t be the only Tesla Model 3 fighter ready by 2020. After unveiling the i Vision Dynamics Concept at the 2017 Frankfurt motor show, the Germans announced the concept’s production successor at the 2018 Geneva show. It’ll don the i4 name which isn’t surprising considering the German automaker’s first mass-produced electric car – the i3 – has been available since 2013.
The 2020 BMW i4 should retain the concept’s 4-door fastback styling and a few small details, but will still be heavily revised in order to meet the industry’s standards. Comparison with the 4 Series Gran Coupe seems to be the most fitting at this moment.
It should cost more than the Tesla Model 3, and likely the Polestar 2 as well. However, the Bavarians can’t afford to push its price tag too high, so expect the entry-level models to start from less than $40,000 after incentives. If all comes together as planned, the i4 should be an important figure in 2020 electric car market.
The i Vision Dynamics Concept was able to achieve a healthy 370 miles on a single charge, but the Germans were referring to the more-lax European NEDC cycle figures. In American-EPA terms, that would translate to around 300 miles of range on a single charge.
The upcoming BMW i4, however, will reportedly be able to travel between 340 and 435 miles on a single charge. Those are still the NEDC figures, but the larger battery pack models are evidently going to give the Tesla Model 3 a run for its money.
The remaining specs and details are yet to be revealed and more should be known after one of the auto shows in 2020. The same goes for the remainder of the BMW i range which should be completely stacked out within the next few years. The BMW i5 should be the first one to follow the i4, alongside the iX3 all-electric crossover, but those are stories for another time.
06. 2020 Pininfarina Battista (PF0)
The fabled Italian coachbuilder and design studio is preparing to enter the world of hypercars with the mystery-shrouded Battista hypercar. Considering they’ve built some of the most iconic Italian sports and supercars over the years, this was the only fitting way to enter the market for the venerable, yet ever-fresh automotive house.
The upcoming 2020 Pininfarina Battista was first revealed at the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance (albeit at a private showing, and under the PF0 concept name), so most details are still sketchy at best. We do know that the Italian hypercar will be built upon the latest EV platform from Rimac which needs no introduction among electric supercar enthusiasts.
Only 150 units are scheduled to be built and their price tag has been set at a whopping $2.5 million. Some of the Battista PF0’s details were publicly unveiled at the 2019 Geneva show but we still don’t know all the important info about it.
The full 2020 Pininfarina Battista’s specifications haven’t been revealed yet, but we know the electric hypercar should be able to generate as much as 1,900 horsepower thanks to four electric motors (one at each wheel).
The Italians did go out with the hypercar’s official top speed, 0 to 60 time and range, though. The Pininfarina Battista will max out at around 217 mph while accelerating to 60 mph from a standstill in under 2 seconds.
Furthermore, a fully charged 120-kWh battery should be able to take it on an impressive 280-mile long trip, but certainly not by pushing the car to its very limits. Driving under full throttle will likely drain the battery juice in a matter of minutes. Stay tuned in order to get further info on the majestic carbon-fiber Italian beast that may very well be the fastest of the 2020 EVs headed our way.
05. 2020 Rimac C_Two
Speaking of hypercars and Rimac in particular, the Croatian EV hypercar company recently rocked the automotive world by revealing their latest model, the C_Two. The newest addition to their supercar portfolio was, however, almost sold out three weeks after the initial release which took place at the 2018 Geneva motor show. Almost 150 buyers (the C_Two will be limited to 150 units) were willing and able to pay close to $2 million in order to acquire this electric vehicle.
The 2020 Rimac C_Two has numerous state-of-the-art bits and pieces in order to justify its price tag. A full carbon-fiber body is one of them, while large carbon-ceramic brakes, double wishbone suspension with electronically controlled dampers and active ride height, all-wheel torque vectoring, and Level 4 autonomous driving with artificial intelligence complete the pretty picture. Of the 2020 EVs headed to market, this is definitely the most capable.
The most important detail of the Rimac C_Two, however, is its performance. The all-electric hypercar boasts four separate electric motors (one at each wheel) and a 120-kWh integrated battery pack that’s generating as much as 1.4 MW of electric power. Thanks to that, the Rimac C_Two is capable of cranking out 1,888 horsepower and 1,696 pound-feet of torque.
Furthermore, they allow it to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 1.85 seconds and from 0 to 100 mph in 4.3 seconds. The top speed of 258 mph shouldn’t pose a problem for the supercar’s liquid-cooled thermal management systems which means that performance drops due to overheating will be kept to a minimum.
The 2020 Rimac C_Two can travel up to 404 miles on a single charge according to European NEDC measurements.
04. 2020 Porsche Taycan
If the name doesn’t ring any bells, all you need to know is that the Taycan is actually the official production name for the Porsche Mission E concept first unveiled in 2015. The 2020 Porsche Taycan is the first in the long line of future Porsche all-electric performance cars which was the Mission E’s mission at its inauguration as well.
At first glance, only the name has changed. However, the fact the Germans had baptized one of their concept cars in recent years speaks a lot more than that. The name roughly translates to “lively young horse” which makes sense after one quick glance at the Porsche crest.
The Taycan rides on a platform of its own despite resembling the Panamera. The all-electric sedan is, however, priced similarly to the Panamera. However, we’d have to forget about the entry-level Panamera as the base Taycan 4S starts from just under $104,000. The range-topping Turbo S models start from $187,000, and that’s before options which have a way of almost reaching the six-digit territory on their own!
The German automaker’s pedigree should ensure the 2020 Porsche Taycan doesn’t become just another zero-emissions performance car. The Taycan drives like any Porsche. The Taycan comes in three tunes ranging from 522 hp, over 563 hp, to 616 hp models. This is possible thanks to either a 79.2-kWh or a 93.4-kWh lithium-ion battery packs.
The 2020 Porsche Taycan is capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in around 2.6 seconds in its Turbo S form. The Germans have engineered an optional 800-volt charging system that should be able to provide around 250 miles in just 15 minutes of charging.
These 2020 EVs are absolutely guaranteed to shake the industry like never before.
03. 2020 Tesla Roadster
It hasn’t yet gotten to the moon and back, but the prototype Tesla Roadster Mk2 is definitely out there, somewhere. Launched into orbit via SpaceX’s latest rocket, code-named Falcon Heavy, the space Roadster represents one of the most daring (and expensive) publicity stunts the auto industry has ever seen.
Considering how the new Tesla Roadster is turning out to be, Elon Musk could have saved himself some money. The Roadster’s specifications alone should be a sufficing selling point. The electric sports car is promising to become one of the fastest-accelerating production cars ever to hit the roads, if not the fastest-accelerating mass-produced car in history.
The 2020 Tesla Roadster should be able to hit the 60 mph mark from a standing start in just 1.9 seconds while accelerating to 100 mph in 4.2 seconds. What’s more, it’ll be able to max out at around 250 mph which is another one of its speed records at the moment.
The second Tesla Roadster manages to achieve this by using a 200 kWh battery pack and no fewer than three electric motors, resulting in a power output that should be around 1,000 horsepower and 750 lb-ft of torque.
The power output figures are only estimates at the moment, but Elon Musk himself has confirmed that its most daring car to date will be able to travel up to 620 miles on a single charge. Needless to say, you’d need to have a soft right foot in order to achieve that.
When it finally arrives, the Tesla Roadster Mk2 will cost around $200,000 to begin with and instantly become one of the top 2020 electric cars on the market. However, knowing Tesla, they might decide to prioritize the all-new Model Y and push the Roadster’s production back for at least another year.
02. 2020 Aston Martin Rapide E
The premium British automaker is yet another manufacturer ready to try its luck in the EV game. The Aston Martin Rapide has been around since 2010 which, in ultra-luxury sedan years, borders on senior citizenship.
Before the British finally update their luxury fastback sedan, they’ll treat it with one last bang, however. The Aston Martin Rapide E stems from the Rapide S which, in turn, represents an updated original Rapide and sports a completely overhauled chassis in order to squeeze in a different sort of powertrain than the Rapide S’ gargantuan 6.0L V12.
The first Aston Martin all-electric car has already been sold out, which doesn’t come as a surprise since the company decided to only build 155 units. The price hasn’t been disclosed, but considering all units have already been spoken for, it hardly matters anyway. For the record, rumor has it that it actually stood at around $330,000. The Rapide E made its debut at the 2019 Shanghai auto show.
In place of the aforementioned 550-horsepower V12 mill, the 2020 Aston Martin Rapide E fits two electric motors and a large battery pack worthy of 610 horsepower, 700 pound-feet of torque, and over 200 miles of range. The company says a 400-volt fast charger is more than capable of providing up to 185 miles in an hour of charging.
The Aston Martin Rapide E is not an electric sports car by any means, but it’s still capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in less than 4 seconds.
One also has to take a look at the bigger picture when it comes to the Rapide E. It’s the very first zero-emissions Aston Martin, but it definitely won’t be the last. In fact, the British are pushing into the EV market with staunch fervor and we can only expect more from them in the future. A future which looks lightning bright, if I might add.
01. 2020 Fisker EMotion
Fisker is an impressive automaker that is mostly known for all the wrong reasons. The Fisker Karma sedan might be gone from this world together with the company – which went under – but Henrik Fisker is back! He recently started over with another creatively-named company and announced a new project – another 4-door sedan with sports car aesthetics.
One would have thought the Danish investor had learned his lesson, but his persistence is due to pay off. The EMotion was already presented at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show but it’s still not yet production-ready. In particular, the production version won’t feature the rear butterfly doors which are more complex to produce than one would be lead to believe. But the Fisker EMotion’s aesthetics are just the tip of the iceberg.
These upcoming 2020 electric cars might just become the first production electric vehicle with a solid-state battery pack. A technology that’s been limited to small, usually wearable electronics might become the next big thing in the automotive world. And it’s all thanks to Fisker engineers. If they manage to get the next-gen battery technology ready in time, the EMotion will feature a battery pack more potent than anything else currently on the market, and much lighter at the same time.
Solid-state battery, however, likely won’t make it in time for inaugural models which should instead sport LG Chem’s 140 kWh units. Regardless, the company promises up to 400 miles of range on a single charge and even more when the solid-state battery becomes a reality.
The Fisker EMotion can be pre-ordered by putting a $2,000 deposit on it, while the final product should cost around $130,000 if nothing unforeseeable happens. However, the company has apparently pushed the EMotion back by another year and will instead introduce an affordable $40,000 all-electric crossover first before they start selling the EMotion itself.
