but EV's are still just a tiny fraction

of the overall car market.

According to the international energy agency

plugging cars account for about 1% of US car sales

and about 2.6% of global auto sales.

- But experts are predicting that 2021

will be a crucial year for EV adoption,

thanks to more options and growing interest from car buyers.

So, we thought we'd zero in on seven different EVs

that are coming out this year.

And talk about what they tell us

about where things are headed in the future,

because this wouldn't be a Verge video

if we weren't talking about the future.

(gentle music)

- There's probably no more polarizing electric vehicle

coming this year than Tesla's cyber truck.

The stark steel body and blade runner inspired design

are unlike anything else on the market right now,

gas or electric.

Something Tesla has been really good at over the years

is pushing legacy automakers out of their comfort zones.

without Tesla, we probably wouldn't see wide adoption

of touchscreen displays in cars

or have so much hype around self-driving tech

and without Tesla, it's hard to imagine

any of these big OEMs

seriously investing billions of dollars

into electric vehicles.

Will the cyber truck inspire similar changes?

Probably not, but it is refreshing to see something

so different coming to market.

So, if the cyber truck is successful

maybe it'll give some of these automakers

just a little bit more wiggle room

to try something new in their designs.

The cyber truck will also just help prove

out the market for large electric SUV's and trucks

which is a potential goldmine

just based on the popularity of their gas counterparts.

More will come later like the electric F-150

or the Hummer EV,

but Tesla says it's already collected

more than half a million 100 dollar deposits

for the cyber truck.

So, that market's already off to a pretty good start.

- I couldn't believe it when I first heard that GM

was resurrecting the Hummer brand as an EV.

The gas guzzling symbol of pre-recession excess

as an electric pickup truck, forget about it,

but GM did it.

And the Hummer EV is expected to crab walk into dealerships

by the end of this year.

It will come with a 24 module

double stacked Ultium propulsion system.

Ultium is GM's modular battery platform

and that is expected to deliver at least 350 miles of range.

With three motors and two drive units.

The Hummer EV is expected to get up to a thousand horsepower

and an estimated 11,500 pound feet of torque,

but it won't be cheap starting at $80,000 for the base model

and over $110,000 for the highest spectrum.

GM went overboard with the tech in this thing,

adaptive air suspension

that can raise the vehicle six inches,

18 cameras, including front and rear under body cameras

to spy any Rocky obstacles.

The ability to charge 100 miles in 10 minutes.

And of course, crab walk mode,

which enables all four wheels to turn in the same direction

and move the vehicle sideways.

Look at that Hummer scuttle.

After more than a decade of working in the shadows,

EV startup Rivian is finally ready to release

it's R1T pickup and it's R1S SUV later this year.

the R1T is an ultra modern rethink

of what a pickup truck should look and feel like,

without going outside the box, like the cyber truck.

The R1S is a Land Roverish SUV,

that's a little more familiar.

Both started around $70,000,

offer at least 300 miles of range

and are decked out in fun, outdoorsy features.

Like an optional pop-out camping kitchen.

Delivery's start later this year.

A few years ago there were EV startups popping up

left and right, all claiming to be the next Tesla.

And one of the reasons they never accomplished that

is just money.

It takes a lot of money

to design, test, and build cars at scale.

Rivian, meanwhile has raised more than $8 billion to date

including from really big backers

like Amazon and Ford.

It's applied that money well so far.

It's developed new battery technology

that it thinks is going to help set it apart

from other entries on the market.

It's also gone all out in developing

this very particular branding

of affluent off-roading adventure

that appeals to buyers with deep pockets.

Rivian's also making a delivery truck for Amazon

as part of that investment.

That's already being tested on public roads right now.

And while that's maybe not as alluring as the pickup truck,

it just might be the first electric vehicle

driving through your neighbor.

(light music)

- We've seen the Porsche Taycan

and we've seen the Audi e-tron and e-tron GT,

but the ID.4 is arguably the most important EV

for the Volkswagen group.

Which is the second largest automaker in the world.

First introduced in 2020, the ID.4

is VWs first long range EV for the U S.

VW expects to deliver over a 100 thousand ID.4s in 2021,

a third of which to US customers.

And it's the second car

to use VWs modular MEB platform for EVs

after the ID.3,

which is only available in Europe and China.

The ID.4 is interesting,

because it has all the SUV DNA

that car buyers really crave these days.

It's the right size.

It has the right styling.

And when you factor in federal state and local tax credits

the price drops to that mid $30,000 range,

that's generally considered to be the sweet spot

for most American car buyers.

That's cheaper than the Tesla Model Y,

which VW will be competing with.

But it's important to remember how the ID.4 got here,

Dieselgate.

In addition to nearly $35 billion

in settlements and fines,

VW vowed to spend billions more

on a whole new lineup of electric vehicles

in the hopes of rescuing its damaged reputation.

Now, the automaker has promised to sell

over a million battery electric vehicles by 2025

to make up for illegally concealing

how much pollution it's diesel vehicles were creating.

And it's also pumping millions more

into an EV charging station expansion

through its subsidiary, Electrify America.

Better charging infrastructure will go a long way

towards speeding up the adoption EVs,

but only if VW can actually meet its goals.

Now, there's a good argument that could be made

that if VW had not got caught cheating on its emissions test

that the ID.4 would not be rolling out to dealerships

this year, if ever.

And those EV charging stations

could still be on the drawing board.

It's funny how culpability works like that.

- What are you driving?

- An electric Mustang.

- What the?

That is so sweet.

- Ford made a huge bet with the Mustang Mach-E,

and while it's still early,

it looks like that bet could pay off.

The Mustang Mach-E is a really good electric car

and will be one of the best for a while

until the market really fills out.

It has the kind of tech

that early adopter customers tend to love,

but without the obvious problems that usually surface

when old automakers test new waters.

I got really into the details with the Mustang Mach-E

in my review which you should definitely go watch

if you want to learn more.

But best of all, for Ford,

they've really excited a whole bunch

of different conversations with this car.

Is it a Mustang?

should a Mustang be electric?

Should a Mustang be an SUV?

There are more people asking those questions

than ever really paid attention

to Ford's fairly weak early electric vehicle efforts.

So, that's exciting.

Cars like the Mustang Mach-E don't come around often.

- One EV that's flown under the radar so far,

is the Nissan Ariya,

another compact SUV

with a little less than 300 miles of range.

The Ariya is expected to go on sale in Japan in mid 2021

followed by the US and Europe later in the year.

Everyone gives Tesla credit for making EVs popular

and Tesla certainly deserves it,

but Nissan has long been an unsung leader in EV sales.

Despite really only having one EV.

The highly functional, mostly uninspiring Nissan LEAF.

And don't forget Renault the French car maker,

that's allied with Nissan and Mitsubishi,

has been pumping out miniature Zoe's

for years now with a high degree of success,

but now Nissan is readying it's sequel.

The Ariyas drive train

is what really differentiates it from the LEAF.

Rather than opt for a simple front wheel drive arrangement,

the Ariya will come in multiple configurations,

including a two-wheel drive version

and a twin electric motor set up

that will enable all wheel drive performance,

which Nissan is calling the e-4orce.

with a four instead of an F,

because everything needs a ridiculous brand name.

This is not an over-designed car.

If anything, it's exceedingly normal looking,

which for an EV can be a relief.

The Ariyas wheels certainly stand out,

but nothing else about this vehicle screams electric.

Which could help lure or potential buyers

who are weighing whether to make the switch

from gas powered vehicles.

Like the ID.4, the Ariya is expected to retail

from around 30 to $35,000 after factoring in tax credits.

Now, Nissan is claiming this is the most

technologically advanced car that it's ever made.

And the tax credit is sure to soften the blow

for some customers,

but Nissan is quickly approaching the threshold

of 200 thousand EVs sold in the US

and after that the credit begins to phase out.

And then the value proposition on a 40 thousand dollar EV

that can't travel as far as a Tesla

in a single charge, starts to dwindle.

(light music)

- Not every electric vehicle coming to market this year

is a truck or an SUV.

Believe it or not, some companies are still making sedans.

One EV startup that's releasing a luxury sedan this year

is Lucid Motors.

Which will finally start selling the Air

The interior of the Air is inspired by a private jet,

according to Lucid,

but the car doesn't skip on specs either.

With up to a thousand horsepower

and over 500 miles of range.

Lucid Motors has a long history for an EV startup,

having been founded in 2007 as a battery company.

And it's currently helmed by a former Tesla executive

who helped bring the model S to light.

But the path to now hasn't been easy.

The company almost went under a few years ago,

because it pretty much ran out of money.

Lucid Motors ultimately turned to ironically,

oil rich Saudi Arabia.

Now, the startup is looking at building another factory

in Saudi Arabia