Key Players in the EV Market

Ever since Tesla made a name for itself, several startups and most legacy car makers have tried to make their name known in the Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) Market. With policy makers trying to convert America’s car market into electric vehicles, it’s important to know what new car manufacturers are trying to enter the market and what special perks they offer. Let’s first talk about the company that started it all: Tesla.

Tesla

Tesla is the industry leader for BEVs and was the maker of the first fully electric car that used lithium-ion batteries. Tesla was founded by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Elon Musk, the current CEO, took over the company in 2008. Tesla has sold over half a million cars so far and has several models to choose from, including the S, X, Y, 3, and the fabled Cybertruck. The designs of the 4 current models are all sedans. One feature of the Tesla is its frunk. Because there is no engine at the front of the car, there is a lot of wasted space at the front. Tesla provides this space to customers by giving them a frunk. Furthermore, Tesla is the only company in the BEV market that has created infrastructure in the U.S. to charge its cars.

Lucid Motors

Founded in 2007 by Sheaupyng Lin, Bernard Tse, and Sam Weng, Lucid Motors is the one of the few BEV manufacturers, other than Tesla, to have delivered cars to customers. Boasting a strong 520 mile range, Lucid is currently sticking with luxury sedans, but reports indicate that it does want to branch into SUVs and pick-up trucks. While it has delivered cars, its charging system is dependent on Charging America. The Lucid Air starts at $77,400.

Lucid Motors is the only EV manufacturer to have a showroom in northern Virginia. You can find it at the Tysons Corner Center in Tysons Corner. 

Rivian 

Rivian was founded by Robert “RJ” Scaringe in 2009. Rivian is marketed towards the outdoor EV market. Both the R1T and R1S (R1T shown above) have features that make it perfect for off-roading, including adjustable air suspension. In addition, there are many quirks of the R1T. One amenity that no one else offers is a “gear tunnel”. It is a small portion of space where one can store luggage and other things they don’t want to put in the frunk or the trunk. Rivian will be selling accessories that customers can put in their Gear Tunnel such as their camp kitchen. It will have an electric stove and will replace a small kitchen. Although Rivian has delivered around 1,000 cars, it plans to make the “Rivian Charging Network” that will have 3,500+ chargers at 600+ locations all across America. The Rivian R1T starts at $67,500. 

Rivian’s Gear Tunnel

Rivian’s Camp Kitchen 

 Ford

The founder of the modern-day automation line, Ford, is breaking into a new market. Founded by Henry Ford in 1903, Ford is almost 119 years old. For most of its lifetime, Ford has built and sold internal combustion engines, but in 2011, that all changed when Ford sold its first EV, the Ford Focus Electric. In 2017, Ford announced that it will be adding a few new EVs to its lineup, including the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the F-150 Lighting. As of now, only Mustangs have been delivered by Ford. Ford has its own charging network called “The BlueOval™ Charge Network”, boasting over 19,500 stations. 

General Motors

Founded in 1908 and owner of GMC, Cadillac, and Chevrolet, GM sells over a quarter of the cars sold in America. In the world of EVs, GM has existed before Tesla. GM announced its first EV in 1996, the EV1 and delivered it in 1998. Today, GM is promising to revolutionize the world of EVs again. Currently, it plans on selling 3 electric SUVs under Chevrolet, Cadillac, and Hummer. The Cadillac LYRIQ (pictured above) is set to be delivered in 2023 while the EV Hummer is set to be delivered later this year. 

Over 1900 car companies have been founded since the end of the 19th century. Changing times and different customer needs have weeded out the weak and left less than 100 successful car companies from that time period. Right now, we are witnessing the same thing happening. A lot of startups want to break into the EV market but only the best will survive. 50 years from now, I predict that many household names for car companies will have been created between 2000-2020. What the future holds is unknown, but a revolution is taking place. 

 

written by Edward Christopher

edited by Sarasi Rout and Tryphena Pilli

 

References

Davies, A. (2020, January 8). How GM beat Tesla to the first true mass-market electric car. Wired. Retrieved March 14, 2022, from https://www.wired.com/2016/01/gm-electric-car-chevy-bolt-mary-barra/

Foldy, B. (2021, November 1). Ev startups lucid and Rivian deliver first models to customers. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 14, 2022, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/ev-startups-lucid-and-rivian-deliver-first-models-to-customers-11635759002

Ford Adding Electrified F-150, Mustang, Transit by 2020 in Major EV Push; Expanded U.S. Plant to Add 700 Jobs to Make EVs, Autonomous Cars | Ford Media Center. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2022, from https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2017/01/03/ford-adding-electrified-f-150-mustang-transit-by-2020.html

Neil, D. (2021, October 29). 2022 lucid air: At last, a worthy Tesla opponent. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 14, 2022, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/2022-lucid-air-at-last-a-worthy-tesla-opponent-11635508800?mod=Searchresults_pos2&page=1

Wilmot, S. (2021, December 23). Releasing their inner tesla is tough for traditional car makers. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 14, 2022, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/releasing-their-inner-tesla-is-tough-for-traditional-car-makers-11640265994?mod=Searchresults_pos1&page=1