While some still believe in thermal power, other manufacturers have decided to make a 180 ° turn by eventually offering only electric models. Find out which ones.
The trend has been towards electrification for a few years now, as standards are getting tougher and harder, forcing manufacturers to find more virtuous ways to power their vehicles. A trend that tends to grow over time, with a real turning point at the start of the year, with the implementation of the CAFE regulations by the European Union. This has indeed set emission thresholds not to be exceeded for each of the manufacturers, based on the averages of their entire range. They then incur a heavy fine in the event of non-compliance with this new rule, like Volkswagen, forced to pay 140 million euros for having exceeded the threshold of 0.5 grams. Suffice to say that brands have every interest in getting into the nails, finding all possible means to reduce emissions, which inevitably involves the adoption of electric engines. A trend towards electrification which should accelerate in the years to come, as the National Assembly voted to ban the sale of thermal cars by 2040. In other words, tomorrow.
While many brands have planned to continue selling petrol and diesel models as long as it is still possible, some have chosen to devote themselves solely to electric, in order to save time and put all the effort into doing so. the odds on their side. We can of course cite Tesla, which nevertheless remains an exception, since the brand already offered only zero-emission cars from its launch, which makes it a bit of a special case. But there is no doubt that the Californian firm has somewhat pushed other brands to act, the latter still seeing it as a target to be cut down and a major competitor. But the manufacturer is not the only one to have been created with the aim of only offering electric models from the outset, since we can also cite Rimac or Aiways, as well as Rivian et Lucid, who have been talking about them for a few years now.
Generalist and high-end brands
While many manufacturers have decided to commit to offering at least one electrified version of each of their models in the years to come, like volvo, others have therefore decided to go even further and to totally ban thermal. Among them are Bentley, which announced earlier last year its vocation to become only electric on the Z030 horizon. This transformation will nevertheless take place in stages, with a first zero-emission model launched in 2025, while in 2026, each vehicle will have its electrified counterpart. But it was another manufacturer that also took us by surprise a few days ago, namely Jaguar. Its boss Thierry Bolloré, former CEO of Renault, has indeed announced that the entire range will become 100% electric from 2025. However, no date has been given for the launch of the first model thus powered, while the electric xJ project has meanwhile been nipped in the bud.
A few weeks ago, it was Luca de Meo who told us about the change at Alpine, during the Renaulution conference, announcing the group’s future strategy. The former boss of Seat has indeed confirmed that the Dieppe firm will go electric, with the launch of three new models. In addition to a new coupe replacing the A110 and designed hand in hand with Lotus, we should also expect to discover a small crossover and a city car, both electric. Finally, Ford also wants to take this direction, since it plans to no longer offer any thermal vehicle by 2030, without even leaving a chance of survival to theplug-in hybrid. In addition to its first model, the Ford Mustang Mach-E, the firm with the blue oval will launch its first trendy vehicle designed in Europe in the course of 2023.
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