Prius Prime review, Ioniq 6, EQE SUV, ID.7 preview drive, Tesla discounts: Reversed week
Which models will be eligible for the full $7,500 modified EV tax credit?
Have Tesla’s recent price cuts spurred stronger electric vehicle sales?
Here’s our look back at the Reversal Week—right here at the Green Car Report—for the week ending April 7, 2023.
This week, once again, we bring you our first round of drive reviews—four different new models coming soon, plus a prototype preview drive.
Hyundai Ioniq 6 2023
In a drive first look at the US spec 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6We found this electric sedan to be more vivacious than sporty, optimized for efficiency as well as calm and quiet in a way that the Tesla Model 3 doesn’t.
we drive Toyota Prius Prime 2023, runs for up to 44 miles on all-electric power before becoming a hybrid rated at a combined 51 mpg maximum. That’s better on the hybrid front than the Chevy Volt, but not as much as the electric miles that the pioneering GM model offered when it was discontinued five years ago. With the same striking silhouette as the new Prius hybrid, we took a look at how it fits into today’s market—and wondered if owners would install them.
2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE 500 4Matic SUV
in one first test drive of the Mercedes-Benz EQE 2023 SUV, we found it to offer comfort, luxury, and impressive driving range despite having a smaller battery pack compared to the larger EQS SUV. However, its charging times are not top-notch.
In a review of Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid 2023, we found this small crossover (or boxy wagon) to optimize value and fuel efficiency—with list prices starting under $30,000 and going up to 42 mpg. Don’t expect luxury-level refinement or performance.
Volkswagen ID.7 prototype (European spec)
Also check out our test drive Volkswagen ID.7 2025. The upcoming US version has a range of up to 350 miles, it looks like a sedan but it’s a hatchback, and it shows why aerodynamics is for electric vehicles—and perhaps, why there is hope for cars after all.
On the news front, Toyota on Friday morning revealed that it plans to push plug-in hybrid electric range exceeds 120 miles. With the Prius Prime up to 44 miles and the RAV4 Prime at 42 miles, that would be a big change in packaging compared to the current PHEV.
The Audi Q8 E-Tron 2024 starts at $75,495, the automaker confirmed last week, with at least some versions still running on the 300-mile range. The modest price increase combined with the additional range and sportier tone should make this version a lot more competitive than rivals like the BMW iX and Mercedes EQE SUV.
2024 SUV Audi SQ8 E-Tron
The Fisker Ocean is good for a range of 440 miles ratings in Europe, the company reported last week—about that market’s more optimistic WLTP testing cycle, with U.S. EPA results yet to be released. In Europe, those numbers are enough to beat the Tesla Model Y.
Kia this week confirmed that it 2024 EV9 SUV to be built in Georgia. Production of the model in the United States will begin in calendar year 2024, leaving some electric SUVs up to that point to be delivered from South Korea. Kia earlier this week increased its global EV targets—up to 1.6 million EVs annually by 2030, up from the 1.2 million EV target for 2030 announced last year. That includes a line of future purpose-built electric vehicles, among them robotaxi.
Kia EV9 2024
Ford F-150 Lightning and Lincoln Aviator Grand Touring plug-in hybrid are the only two Ford models are eligible for the full $7,500 EV tax The credit with battery raw materials regulations will go into effect April 18. Ford is the first or one of the first to confirm the eligibility of its vehicles.
Ryder announces acquisition plan GM .’s 4,000 BrightDrop electric trucks for its fleet of rental and rental cars. BrightDrop is currently mass producing the trucks in Canada, though it says the 2023 production run for the larger Zevo 600 has already sold out.
Ryder plans to buy 4,000 BrightDrop electric trucks by 2025
LG Innotek said that wireless battery management system (BMS) can help reduce battery pack size, save weight, and add EV range. It claims to have the first such system designed for an 800-volt system, although GM already offers 400-volt Ultium EVs with wireless BMS.
Sila is asking for a 20% range increase with silicon-anode battery technology that will finally show up in the boxy, boxy Mercedes EQQ SUV—which also promises fast charging.
Volkswagen has hinted that it plans to kill off Europe’s longtime best-selling car—VW Golf—support electric cars set to arrive by the end of the decade.
Lyft has announced a major expansion of it Private ride-hailing service for EVs and hybrids service. Called Gren mode, it adds $1 per ride with the aim of increasing the number of trams in the fleet.
2023 Tesla Model Y – Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.
did it recently Tesla price cuts drive stronger sales? The production and delivery numbers from the EV maker announced over the weekend paint a more cloudy picture — and suggest that it is continuing to build more vehicles than it sells. An additional $1,000 to $5,000 price cut on Friday seems to support the idea that Tesla is aiming to clear some of the backlog.
Meanwhile, the mass car market Brands that don’t respond to electric vehicle demand will lose market shareConsumer Reports suggests, citing forecasts and recent surveys that suggest electric vehicle demand will grow by 350% between 2020 and 2022. CR predicts that if the supply of electric vehicles continues to fall short, people Consumers will switch to other EV-savvy brands or give up buying products other than models that are considered obsolete.
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