Tesla
In today's automotive market, it's almost impossible to be successful without having at least a few SUV or crossover models, and Tesla is no exception to this. The brand has been promising the addition of a smaller SUV as a fourth model to its lineup for a while now, and this week it finally debuted the Model Y at an event in Los Angeles.
The styling of the Model Y holds no major surprises, with heavy influence coming from both the larger Model X and Model 3, with which it shares most of its major platform and battery components. While it adopts the coupe-like profile that many luxury SUVs and crossovers have these days, the Model Y should still offer increased practicality over the Model 3 sedan with its lower load floor and wide rear hatch. It will even be capable of seating seven people in a pinch.
Like the Model 3, it will be available in several different flavors, with a base rear-wheel drive model starting off at $39,000. From there you can go further, with AWD, longer range versions and a dual motor Performance version that will be capable of hitting 60 mph in 3.5 seconds. Like other Tesla models have done, the Model Y Performance should be capable of running with the world's best high-performance SUVs.
For the U.S. market Model Ys will be built at Tesla's Gigafactory in northern Nevada, and deliveries are scheduled to begin in the fall of 2020. Needless to say, this is an extremely important vehicle for Tesla, and the company sees the Model Y eventually outselling all of its other models combined. With a price that's not astronomical and the popular SUV profile, it's easy to envision the Model Y being a big hit.
Fisker
While Tesla naturally gathered a lot of attention with its Model Y announcement, it wasn’t the only car company to drop an electric SUV crossover in recent days. Fisker Inc. has also just teased a new EV crossover that it claims will start under $40,000 and have a range of 300 miles. Unfortunately, the brand didn't release much hard info and only supplied a single teaser image. The plan is to have it on sale during the second half 2021.
Even if you don't follow the church of Elon or see yourself making the jump to EV motoring anytime soon, the addition of new models like these certainly makes things fun to watch as the auto industry continues its march toward a new age.