If you’ve been following the news, you know there are some amazing companies promoting sustainable technologies. In 2022, we’re seeing a lot of traditional automotive companies like Ford and General Motors make the switch and launch eco-friendly electric vehicles. It’s obvious that there’s a huge demand for EVs. Tesla’s sales doubled to 960,172 vehicles in 2021 and is expected to cross 1 million this year. There are plenty of players, big and small, in the electric vehicle market. Some promising, some not so promising.
Let’s take a look at some promising and not-so-promising EV startups of 2022:
Promising EV Startups
1. Rivian
Rivian win’s the list after its R1T pickup was named Motor Trend Truck of the Year, which is now on sale. It received early investments from Amazon and Ford, which put the EV brand on the global map. Production delays in 2021 made us doubt Rivian’s promise but it still has a huge market value of $90 billion, more than well-established big leaders including Ford and General Motors.
2. Lucid
Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO of Lucid, is most well-known for giving the world Tesla Model S. He left Tesla just three years later to become Lucid’s CTO and become their CEO in 2019. Lucid currently has five models of Lucid Air in the market, all of which are sedans. The price tag? The lowest model starts at $105,000 and has a 653 kilometres driving range. However, they are planning to release more mainstream SUVs and sedans in the near future.
3. Nio
Nio is a popular Chinese EV brand trying to enter the North American market. While they struggled back in 2019 to get investments, steady sales, swapping the battery for longer driving, and their car designs has made it a brand to watch out for. They have a unique business model where they are creating an ecosystem of EV cars, charging solutions (NIO Power), subscription services (BaaS), NIO Life, NIO Spaces, and NIO House. To be honest, the business model is quite unique and would make or break their position in the North American market.
Not-so-promising EV Startups
1. Atlis
An EV startup focusing on commercial and fleet clientele, Atlis is currently developing an unusual battery-tech. These are square cells that can hold up to 1 megawatt of energy and could charge their EV as quickly as filling gas. It sounds too good to be true, so we aren’t too sure about this EV brand.
2. Canoo
Remember the old VW Microbus? Canoo’s minivan pushes its occupant right at the front and has placed the batteries at the bottom. While this creates a massive space inside the car, we doubt people would want to buy outdated-looking minivans.
3. Byton
When Byton was first introduced in the market, it looked promising. Their M-byte concept launched at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show impressed many but constant management turnover, lack of cash flow, and the pandemic weakened the company. They recently shut down their US headquarters and moved back to China.
Stay updated with the latest news from the EV industry here at Wieser Electric.
