With skyrocketing fuel costs and the increased investment in charging infrastructure, both luxury and mass-market manufacturers have been heavily expanding their EV portfolios. Having said that, from three electric Mercedes’ to the Hyundai Ioniq 5, here are the top 4 luxury EVs that might be headed our way in the near future.
1) Hyundai Ioniq 5
The folks at Hyundai have been perfecting their EV game over the past few years, starting from the first EV with a range of approximately 300km in the form of the Kona EV. To up the ante even further, the South Korean manufacturer has been planning on launching the Ioniq 5 on our shores sometime next year. Based on the same platform which underpins the Kia EV6, the Ioniq 5 has the potential to cook up a storm in the luxury EV space, with a 72.6 kWh battery pack, AWD and over 500km of range! If you think that’s impressive, wait till you find out what Mercedes has in store for us.
2) Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV
The German carmaker has been slowly flooding the Indian market with its EV offerings lately. After the EQS (Rs 1.75 crore) and the EQA (Rs 60 lakh) (all ex-showroom), Mercedes is now planning to launch the EQS SUV, sometime next year. Apart from a 56-inch hyper-screen, the 7-seater will also come equipped with off-roading capabilities, with a separate “off-road driving mode,” which Mercedes claims is “optimized for unpaved roads, inclines and terrain.”
As far as what it’s packing, the EQS SUV will be offered with two different powertrains: the 450+ producing 359PS and 568Nm of torque, and a dual-motor sporting 580 4Matic option, which makes 543PS and 858Nm of torque, with the latter also claiming to offer a range of around 600km.
3) BMW i7
Yet another German company getting their flagship EVs to India is BMW with its i7 all-electric sedan. Unveiled internationally nearly four months ago, the i7 still has people talking about it, mostly for its controversial front grille.
Regardless of it though, the sedan gets all sorts of creature comforts you can imagine, including a massive roof-mounted 8K 31.3-inch display! If that isn’t enough to seal the deal, the i7 comes with a 101.7kWh battery pack, offering a range of 590-625km on a single charge. The i7 is quick on its feet too, with 0-100kph coming up in 4.7 seconds, thanks to its twin motors putting out 544PS of power.
4) Audi Q4 e-Tron
We’ve been waiting for Audi to launch the Q4 e-Tron for a while now, with the latest reports suggesting that the manufacturer may finally bring it to our shores sometime early next year. Announced all the way back in February 2021, the Q4 e-Tron shares its platform with the Volkswagen ID.4. Packing a 77kWh battery pack, the Q4 e-Tron is said to deliver a range of 388km. That may sound a bit on the low side, considering some of the entries on this list, however, Audi more than makes up for it by sprinting from 0-100kmph in 5.8 seconds, all thanks to its 296PS permanent synchronous motor.
Image credits: Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi
