Category: General

• The 2025 Lucid Air Pure just became the most efficient car in America.
• The Pure has an EPA-rated range of 420 miles.
• The price? $71,400, base.

The 2025 Lucid Air Pure—the single-motor, rear-wheel-drive version of the Air electric luxury sedan—continues to offer more range than the Tesla Model S for less than $80,000.

Lucid on Tuesday confirmed a 420-mile EPA-estimated range for the Air Pure, which was rated at 419 miles as a 2024 model. That equates to 5.0 miles per kwh from the Pure’s 84-kwh battery pack, based solely on the range rating. Lucid expects a 146 MPGe EPA efficiency rating as well, which equates to about 4.3 miles per kwh in the EPA combined driving cycle.

This means the Air Pure uses less electricity to get from one place to another than any EV currently available, Lucid claims. That keeps the size of the battery pack in check, reducing consumption of raw materials, cost, and demand on the grid when it’s time to charge, Lucid notes in a press release. It’s another reminder that efficiency is what really drives Lucid engineering.

Considering the scope of vehicles rated by the EPA, it’s also the most efficient U.S.-market vehicle of any fuel or powertrain type.

The Air Pure was initially available with all-wheel drive, but Lucid adding the rear-wheel-drive version in late 2023 and eventually dropped the all-wheel-drive configuration in an effort to streamline the Air lineup. Lucid cut the price by $7,500 earlier this year to $71,400. That price remains in effect for 2025, keeping the Air Pure below the Tesla Model S, which starts at $74,630 with dual-motor all-wheel drive and a 402-mile range.

Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson – Arizona plant commissioning

For 2025, the heat pump previously available on the Air Grand Touring and high-performance Air Sapphire is now standard across the lineup, helping to reduce range loss in cold weather. All models also receive new control hardware with triple the processing power and twice the memory, according to Lucid.

An expanded driver-assistance suite is also rolling out for 2025, adding features like a surround-view camera system and a live blind-spot camera view, while Grand Touring models receive an upgraded audio system.

The all-wheel-drive Grand Touring’s range drops slightly for 2025, from 516 miles to 512 miles, but it’s still by far the longest-range EV currently on sale. It’s priced from $112,400 which, like the Pure pricing, is unchanged from 2024. The Air Touring remains the least-expensive all-wheel-drive Air, with an $80,400 base price and up to 406 miles of range.

• The 2025 Genesis Electrified GV70 gains wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• The Genesis Electrified GV70 will get a refresh for 2026
• The 2025 Genesis Electrified GV70 costs $68,300.

The all-electric 2025 Genesis Electrified GV70 carries over with only a handful of changes, but a big update is planned for 2026.

For 2025, the Electrified GV70 adds wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as Genesis Connected Services telematics, while the Makalu Gray paint color has been dropped. Pricing starts at $68,300 for the Advanced grade, while the Prestige grade starts at $75,100 (both prices include a mandatory $1,350 destination charge).

Both grades include a 77.4-kwh battery pack and dual-motor all-wheel drive powertrain rated at 429 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque, with a boost mode that provides 483 hp in 10-second bursts. EPA range is likely to remain unchanged at 236 miles.

2025 Genesis Electrified GV70

Genesis showed an updated GV70 (it’s also sold with gasoline powertrains) at the 2024 Beijing auto show this past April, but it’s not expected to reach the U.S. until the 2026 model year. The biggest change is a 27-inch floating display screen that replaces the separate instrument cluster and infotainment touchscreen. It’s joined by interior ambient lighting and digital climate controls, while exterior styling gets some small changes.

Launched in the U.S. as a 2023 model following a 2021 reveal, the Electrified GV70 marked the debut of several important pieces of EV tech for Genesis and parent Hyundai, including a so-called multi-rapid-charging system that allows the Electrified GV70 to charge at 400 or 800 volts.

2025 Genesis Electrified GV70

Genesis started manufacturing the Electrified GV70 in Alabama in 2023—which may help explain why the U.S. version of the refresh is coming a bit later than other markets. Despite being made in the U.S., and being priced below the $80,000 price cap for SUVs, the Electrified GV70 at present doesn’t qualify for a federal EV tax credit.

Genesis is reportedly considering backpedaling on what up until now has been an ambitious EV plan. In 2021 the automaker laid out a plan to introduce only EVs or hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles starting in 2025, on the way to phasing out combustion engines by 2030. But it may launch some new hybrids as well—including a hybrid version of the GV70.

• The electric Porsche Macan lineup gains two variants for 2025
• Base Porsche Macan EVs are now single-motor and rear-wheel drive
• The 2025 Porsche Macan EV costs $77,295

Porsche’s electric Macan enters the 2025 model year with a new base model equipped with rear-wheel drive, a feature that should provide an efficiency boost for the battery-powered compact crossover.

The base Macan arrives in the fourth quarter of the year and costs $77,295, including a $1,995 destination charge. That’s almost $3,000 less than 2024’s base model, the Macan 4.

The base Macan is fitted with the same 800-volt electrical architecture and 100-kwh battery found in all other electric Macans, and is powered by a single motor at the rear axle, making it the first Macan in the nameplate’s history to have only two of its wheels driven. The motor, which uses a 480-amp pulse inverter and silicon carbide transistors to help boost efficiency, delivers a maximum 335 hp and will help the Macan accelerate to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds on the way to a top speed of 136 mph, according to Porsche.

By skipping a front motor and other associated hardware, it has a weight saving of 243 pounds compared to the similar Macan 4. This should make it the new range king in the electric Macan lineup. The EPA hasn’t released range estimates for any electric Macan model, but Porsche has indicated that the Macan 4’s estimate will come in around 300 miles.

2025 Porsche Macan 4S

The 2025 model year also includes the introduction of a Macan 4S model slotting in between the Macan 4 and Macan Turbo models that arrived for the electric Macan’s 2024 debut. The Macan 4S sports a dual-motor all-wheel-drive powertrain delivering a maximum 509 hp. It’s priced from $86,895, including destination.

Both Macan models get an air suspension with adaptive dampers as standard, and can be fitted with rear-wheel steering. Porsche’s brake-based Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus system is available for the Macan 4S. Prices for those additional features haven’t been announced.

The new model year also brings additional color and wheel options, plus an off-road package that increases the approach angle and ground clearance.

Order books for the 2025 Macan are already open. Porsche still sells the previous-generation gas-powered Macan alongside the new electric Macan. The automaker recently confirmed that only the electric Macan will be available starting in 2026.

• Vinfast delayed U.S. production of its EVs by three years
• Vinfast lowered volume targets for 2024
• Vinfast has fallen behind sales targets despite pivoting its sales model

Vinfast on Saturday announced that its North Carolina factory would be delayed, while also lowering its 2024 annual delivery target.

In a press release discussing its second-quarter financial results, Vinfast said the factory would start producing vehicles in 2028, rather than 2025, as the automaker said in its last update on the project. Construction at the 2,000-acre site in Chatham County, near the state capital of Raleigh, was reportedly paused earlier this year.

“This decision will allow the company to optimize its capital allocation and manage its short-term spending more effectively,” the release said.

Vinfast VF 9

Announced in 2022, the factory netted Vinfast a $1.2 billion incentive package from the state of North Carolina, which the automaker said at the time would complement its own $2 billion investment in the first phase of construction. Vinfast originally said the factory would open in 2024, but told shareholders earlier this year that it was aiming to complete the factory by 2025, with annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles.

In the same release, Vinfast said it’s now aiming to deliver 80,000 vehicles this year, down from the previous target of 100,000 vehicles. The automaker reported 21,747 deliveries in the first half of 2024, with 12,058 of those in the second quarter. The automaker has a long way to go to hit even the lower target, which would still be a major increase from the 34,855 vehicles Vinfast delivered in 2023.

VinFast VF 3

Vinfast appeared to be falling behind on sales targets earlier this year, even as it added U.S. dealer franchises in an ongoing pivot away from the direct-sales model pioneered by Tesla and taken up by other EV hopefuls like Lucid and Rivian. As of April the automaker had 18 franchised dealerships in seven states, plus 15 company-owned stores and service centers in California, the nation’s largest EV market.

Vinfast’s sole offering for the U.S. is the VF 8 electric crossover SUV. A first drive of the VF 8 last year led us to warn that it simply doesn’t feel ready yet. A follow-up, the three-row Vinfast VF 9, has been officially rated with a 330-mile EPA range, but deliveries haven’t started yet. Vinfast has also shown several smaller crossovers, as well as a pickup, in concept form, and has begun taking reservations for its VF 3 mini-SUV.

• Hyundai’s three-row electric SUV will arrive in 2024
• The electric three-row SUV will likely be called the Ioniq 9
• Interior packaging, range, and powertrain outputs could compare to the Kia EV9

Hyundai will unveil an electric three-row crossover SUV later this year, the automaker has confirmed.

The unnamed three-row crossover will debut as a 2025 model. It was listed in a Hyundai press release detailing changes for that model year, with no additional details other than a promise of a “world premiere later in 2024.”

This larger crossover has been teased for some time. It was announced along with the Ioniq EV sub-brand in 2020, and then previewed by the Hyundai Seven concept first seen at the 2021 Los Angeles auto show.

Hyundai Seven concept

The Seven concept’s nomenclature indicated the production model (which was spotted testing earlier this year) would be called the Hyundai Ioniq 7, which would also make sense considering that this crossover will be positioned above the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 in the lineup. But a range of reports from Korea indicate it will likely be named Ioniq 9, syncing it with the Kia EV9 it might share some specs with.

If the Hyundai crossover hews closely to the EV9, it might be offered with a 76.1-kwh battery pack and single-motor, rear-wheel-drive powertrain in base form, with a 99.8-kwh battery pack and rear-wheel drive or dual-motor all-wheel drive available. The EV9 is rated at a maximum 304 miles of EPA range with the larger pack and single-motor powertrain.

Hyundai Seven concept

Meanwhile, Hyundai’s Genesis luxury brand is planning its own “super-large GV90,” previewed by the Genesis Neolun concept unveiled ahead of the 2024 New York auto show. It’s expected to arrive in 2026.

The GV90 will reportedly be built in South Korea, while EV9 production for the U.S. recently began shifting to that brand’s West Point, Georgia, factory. Hyundai has its own Georgia EV “Metaplant” that will initially build the Ioniq 5, but Hyundai will also have to make room for the three-row model in order to make it tax-credit eligible.

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Following a mid-model-year update for 2024, the 2025 Audi Q4 E-Tron electric crossover receives a few more significant changes for the new model year.

The single-motor, rear-wheel-drive model gets an 81-hp boost to 282 hp, which lowers the 0-60 mph time by 1.7 seconds, to 6.2 seconds, according to Audi. Revisions to the 82-kwh battery pack (with 77 kwh of usable capacity) should also yield an additional 23 miles of range, Audi estimates, which would mean 288 miles on the EPA testing cycle. The rear-wheel-drive model has been renamed from Q4 40 E-Tron to Q4 45 E-Tron to highlight these changes.

2025 Audi Q4 E-Tron

This follows similar updates to all-wheel-drive Q4 E-Tron models midway through the 2024 model year. Audi replaced the previous Q4 50 E-Tron with the more powerful 335-hp Q4 55 E-Tron, which also got a range boost to an estimated 258 miles. Audi said at the time that changes to the battery chemistry would also yield faster charging, while changes to the steering and suspension aimed for battery response when driving enthusiastically.

The Q4 E-Tron is also available in a Sportback body style with a lower roof. It received the same updates as the standard all-wheel-drive Q4 E-Tron, and continues to be offered only with the dual-motor powertrain for 2025.

2025 Audi Q4 E-Tron

The previously-optional Technology Package is now standard on all Q4 E-Tron models for 2025, adding the Virtual Cockpit Plus digital instrument cluster, navigation, and traffic sign recognition to the list of standard features. An optional Cold Weather Package for all-wheel-drive models adds a heated windshield and heat pump, which may help improve on the underwhelming real-world range we noticed in a previous cold-weather test drive.

Pricing starts at $51,095 for the base single-motor Q4 45 E-Tron Premium (all prices include a mandatory $1,295 destination charge), while a Premium Plus grade starts at $54,895. The dual-motor Q4 55 E-Tron is available in Premium ($56,495), Premium Plus ($59,000), and Prestige ($63,095) grades. The Sportback body style adds $3,000 to the price of all-wheel-drive models.

The 2025 Audi Q8 E-Tron electric SUV receives minor changes for the new model year, while some reports indicate it will be discontinued in the near future.

Launched for the 2024 model year, the Q8 E-Tron replaced the Audi E-Tron, the automaker’s first volume EV. It carried over all the good things from the E-Tron—including good safety ratings—but with more driving range and somewhat sharpened handling.

For 2025, Audi adds access to an app store for the infotainment system and Homelink buttons integrated into the rearview mirror. The previously-available park assist system has also been upgraded to a remote version, allowing drivers to engage it from outside the vehicle. An available Magnesium trim package and different bits of exterior trim round out the changes.

2025 Audi Q8 E-Tron

The Q8 E-Tron is once again available in both standard SUV and sleeker Sportback body styles, with a 114-kwh battery pack (with 106 kwh of usable capacity) and dual-motor all-wheel-drive powertrain rated at 402 hp and 490 lb-ft of torque. EPA ratings for the 2025 model year aren’t available yet, but for reference the 2024 Q8 E-Tron was rated at a maximum 300 miles of range in Sportback form and 285 miles in standard SUV form.

A sportier SQ8 E-Tron treatment with a tri-motor powertrain is also available in combination with both the SUV and Sportback body styles. This ups output to 496 hp and 718 lb-ft, allowing for an Audi-estimated 0-60 mph time of 4.5 seconds, compared to 5.6 seconds for the Q8 E-Tron models.

Pricing starts at $76,095 for a Q8 E-Tron SUV in base Premium spec (all prices include a mandatory $1,295 destination charge). Premium Plus and Prestige grades are also available, priced at $80,495 and $86,495, respectively. Sportback models are priced $3,400 higher.

2025 Audi Q8 E-Tron

The SQ8 E-Tron skips the Premium grade, and is priced from $91,495 in Premium Plus spec and $97,495 in Prestige spec, with the SUV body style. The Sportback body style adds $2,800 to the price.

Audi draws on a variety of architectures for its current EV lineup. The Q8 E-Tron is still based on the original E-Tron architecture, the Q4 E-Tron uses Audi parent Volkswagen’s MEB platform, and the E-Tron GT shares the J1 platform with the Porsche Taycan. Yet another architecture is being introduced with the 2025 Audi Q6 E-Tron, which uses the same Premium Platform Electric (PPE) as the Porsche Macan Electric.

At least a couple of presidents have been drivers of electric cars, but they’re not all in the recent past.

Our 34th President, Dwight David “Ike” Eisenhower, may have been one of the first. Long before Ike became perhaps the 20th century’s most famous general, Eisenhower drove around in an early electric car that belonged to his in-laws.

John Sheldon and Elvira Doud, Eisenhower’s father- and mother-in-law, owned the car—a 1914 Rauch & Lang electric car. It had been advertised as the first EV in America with a top-mounted worm drive, and could be driven from the front or the back seat. At its top speed of 13 mph, it could be driven up to 100 miles, according to donation material supplied with the car in 1953.

Ike met their daughter Mamie in 1915 and asked her to marry him on Valentine’s Day the next year. The two courted, then married on July 1, 1916. Ike drove the car often until it was donated to his museum.

The Douds, a well-off couple who raised Mamie in Colorado, bought the car for $4,300 in 1914. That’s the equivalent of more than $135,000 today—far more than, say, a 2024 Mercedes-Benz EQS 580 sedan.

1914 Rauch & Lang electric car and President Dwight Eisenhower

The newly minted Eisenhowers drove the car on occasion, but bought their own used black Pullman roadster before they moved on to Washington, D.C. The automaker, which went out of business in 1917, barely outlived Ike and Mamie’s car, which often broke down on the military couple. 

The Eisenhowers would drive gas-powered cars for the next few decades. Mamie drove everywhere as a newlywed in D.C., down bustling lanes where streetcars shared the lanes with Model Ts and the like. “When I would sometimes take Ike to the office in the morning,” she’d recall in an oral history taken in the year of her death, “you’d run into what we called then a great traffic problem, which is nothing in comparison to today.”

The succession of cars they owned leaned heavily toward Chryslers, but only after they shipped a Model T to Panama for a tour of duty in 1922. There was a 1948 Chrysler Crown Imperial, a 1950 model, then a 1952 model. Then, while Eisenhower served as President and Mamie as First Lady—from January 1953 to January 1961—the couple drove White House Motor Pool vehicles. Most of those vehicles were Chryslers, though the President drove Cadillacs and was driven in a 1950 “Bubbletop” Lincoln in many parades.

During his two terms in the White House, Eisenhower’s grandchildren also drove an electric car—a miniature one which they piloted down the hallways on the White House’s first floor after tour groups were gone for the day. 

When they retired, they purchased two Chryslers from the White House fleet, to go with the various farm vehicles they used on their farm near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

1914 Rauch-Lang electric car

Eisenhower’s “death knell” for short-range EVs?

Eisenhower’s administrations preceded the modern electric car by decades, but his presidency had long-trailing effects on today’s EV market. In 1954, after proposing the interstate highway system in his State of the Union address, he advocated for a sustained gas tax to be used to build highways. In 1956 Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act into effect. In postwar America, “big government” had become a catalyst for a new American era of prosperity, and Eisenhower won over lawmakers with a plan to spend the princely sum of $50 billion to kickstart the construction of a much larger network of highways across the U.S.

Eisenhower christened the modern Interstate highway system. Already a half-century or more in the making—as rural dirt roads became modern state roads, then highways—Eisenhower’s massive public works project nevertheless may have rung the death knell for short-range EVs. With ribbons of asphalt promising to take Americans hundreds of miles away from home or back to it, and as streetcar systems were dismantled, gas stations mushroomed and likely erased the potential for infrastructure conceived around shorter travel distances.

Eisenhower died in 1969, long before his vice president, Richard Nixon, signed legislation to found the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Mamie died in 1972. It would take until the presidency of George W. Bush before electric vehicles became a better-funded national priority and at the same time, a political hot button.

Like so much of history, Ike’s legacy toward efficient transportation is complicated. At least in his day, any President could be adamantly pro-American and an EV driver.

Photos courtesy the Eisenhower Presidential Library.

The investor, advisor and former U.S. DOT senior scientist links the emerging eVTOL industry with America’s global innovation leadership. She further explains how aviation must be better integrated with other transportation options.