 We hear a lot about electric vehicles these days, but EVs are still just a tiny fraction of the overall car market. According to the International Energy Agency, plug-in 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. There's probably no more polarizing electric vehicle coming this year than Tesla's Cybertruck. 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 be here today. But Tesla's electric vehicle is a big part of that. 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 Cybertruck inspire similar changes? Probably not, but it is refreshing to see something so different come to market. So if the Cybertruck 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 Cybertruck will also just help prove out the market of large electric SUVs 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 hundred dollar deposits for the Cybertruck. 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 1,000 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 spec trim. 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 underbody 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 its R1T pickup and its 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 Cybertruck. The R1S is a Land Rover-ish SUV that's a little more familiar. Both start at 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. Deliveries 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 neighborhood. We've seen the Porsche Taycan, and we've seen the Audi e-tron in 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 VW's first long range EV for the US. VW expects to deliver over 100,000 ID.4s in 2021, a third of which to US customers. And it's the second car to use VW's 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 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 its 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 of 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. We got really into the details with the Mustang Mach-E in my review, which you should definitely go watch if you wanna 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 uninspired, Nissan Leaf. And don't forget Renault, the French car maker that's allied with Nissan and Mitsubishi has been pumping out miniature Zoes for years now with a high degree of success. But now Nissan is readying its sequel. The Ariya's drivetrain 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 setup that will enable all wheel drive. Performance, which Nissan is calling the E-Force 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 Ariya's wheels certainly stand out, but nothing else about this vehicle screams electric, which can help lure potential buyers who are weighing whether to make the switch from gas powered vehicles. Like the ID.4, the Ariya is expected to retail for 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 200,000 EVs sold in the US. And after that, the credit begins to phase out. And then the value proposition on a $40,000 EV that can't travel as far as a Tesla on a single charge starts to dwindle. 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 electric vehicles, but it's also the first EV startup to have a battery. And it's currently held by a former Tesla executive who helped bring the Model S to life. 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 and its future is sort of indefinitely tied to the kingdom. Lucid Motors may not be around today with the same kind of energy and power as it would not be around today without that money, but if it had been able to hang on for just a little while longer, it might've had another option, merging with a special purpose acquisition company or SPAC. These types of mergers have become really popular over the last year as interest swelled in electric vehicles. As a result, a few billion dollars has been directed at previously struggling or underfunded startups like Faraday Future, Canoe, Nikola, and Fisker. It's the kind of development that could really change the course of the budding electric vehicle market, but right now it's just a little too early to say how. Many of these vehicles have been on the horizon for years and all of them are expected to go on sale this year, notwithstanding any more delays. But while these EVs help us understand where things are headed, the automotive industry is still lumbering through a gigantic sea change right now. Like Tesla's existing vehicles, which are growing ever popular, and the company even just went back and did a big redesign of its Model S sedan and Model X SUV. Or then there's China, which is the biggest market for electric vehicles in the world and is really driving a lot of the things that we're seeing happening here in the US. There are some really interesting cars being made there like the Polestar 2, and there are just a lot of really interesting startups there like NIO and XPeng. We'd actually love to talk more about that. So if that's something you wanna see us make a video about, let us know in the comments below. And if you haven't already, definitely watch our review of the Ford Mustang Mach-E. Check that out, we had a lot of fun making that video. And be sure to like and subscribe.
 We hear a lot about electric vehicles these days,
 but EVs are still just a tiny fraction
 of the overall car market.
 According to the International Energy Agency,
 plug-in 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.
 There's probably no more polarizing electric vehicle
 coming this year than Tesla's Cybertruck.
 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 be here today.
 But Tesla's electric vehicle is a big part of that.
 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 Cybertruck inspire similar changes?
 Probably not, but it is refreshing to see something
 so different come to market.
 So if the Cybertruck 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 Cybertruck will also just help prove out the market
 of large electric SUVs 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 hundred dollar deposits
 for the Cybertruck.
 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 1,000 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 spec trim.
 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
 underbody 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
 its R1T pickup and its 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 Cybertruck.
 The R1S is a Land Rover-ish SUV
 that's a little more familiar.
 Both start at 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.
 Deliveries 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 neighborhood.
 We've seen the Porsche Taycan,
 and we've seen the Audi e-tron in 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 VW's first long range EV for the US.
 VW expects to deliver over 100,000 ID.4s in 2021,
 a third of which to US customers.
 And it's the second car to use VW's 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 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 its 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 of 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.
 We got really into the details
 with the Mustang Mach-E in my review,
 which you should definitely go watch
 if you wanna 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 uninspired,
 Nissan Leaf.
 And don't forget Renault, the French car maker
 that's allied with Nissan and Mitsubishi
 has been pumping out miniature Zoes for years now
 with a high degree of success.
 But now Nissan is readying its sequel.
 The Ariya's drivetrain 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 setup
 that will enable all wheel drive.
 Performance, which Nissan is calling the E-Force
 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 Ariya's wheels certainly stand out,
 but nothing else about this vehicle screams electric,
 which can help lure potential buyers
 who are weighing whether to make the switch
 from gas powered vehicles.
 Like the ID.4, the Ariya is expected to retail
 for 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 200,000 EVs sold in the US.
 And after that, the credit begins to phase out.
 And then the value proposition on a $40,000 EV
 that can't travel as far as a Tesla on a single charge
 starts to dwindle.
 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 electric vehicles,
 but it's also the first EV startup to have a battery.
 And it's currently held by a former Tesla executive
 who helped bring the Model S to life.
 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 and its future is sort of indefinitely tied
 to the kingdom.
 Lucid Motors may not be around today
 with the same kind of energy and power
 as it would not be around today without that money,
 but if it had been able to hang on
 for just a little while longer,
 it might've had another option,
 merging with a special purpose acquisition company or SPAC.
 These types of mergers have become really popular
 over the last year as interest swelled
 in electric vehicles.
 As a result, a few billion dollars has been directed
 at previously struggling or underfunded startups
 like Faraday Future, Canoe, Nikola, and Fisker.
 It's the kind of development that could really change
 the course of the budding electric vehicle market,
 but right now it's just a little too early to say how.
 Many of these vehicles have been on the horizon for years
 and all of them are expected to go on sale this year,
 notwithstanding any more delays.
 But while these EVs help us understand
 where things are headed,
 the automotive industry is still lumbering
 through a gigantic sea change right now.
 Like Tesla's existing vehicles,
 which are growing ever popular,
 and the company even just went back
 and did a big redesign of its Model S sedan
 and Model X SUV.
 Or then there's China,
 which is the biggest market for electric vehicles
 in the world and is really driving a lot of the things
 that we're seeing happening here in the US.
 There are some really interesting cars being made there
 like the Polestar 2,
 and there are just a lot of really interesting startups
 there like NIO and XPeng.
 We'd actually love to talk more about that.
 So if that's something you wanna see us make a video about,
 let us know in the comments below.
 And if you haven't already,
 definitely watch our review of the Ford Mustang Mach-E.
 Check that out, we had a lot of fun making that video.
 And be sure to like and subscribe.