Asian Brands Are Already Gaining Speed on the Electric Avenue

Two years after the Tesla Roadster, Nissan introduced the Leaf and Mitsubishi the i-Miev. Nowadays, both brands are connected to French carmaker Renault, who benefited from their expertise. Apart from Chinese brands, the Koreans from Hyundai-Kia are already stepping up their game with the introduction of several BEVs on the market. The rest of the world is advancing on this segment with original or less so ideas. So, after writing about the American carmakers' plans, let's take a look at the other carmakers from Asia.

Honda

Honda acts kind of weird. Since it is an independent carmaker, it should have more decision power than other carmakers. Yet, it waited a lot before launching the Honda-e city car. Despite its small range and high price, there's still a waiting list for it, not because of chip shortage but because it is adorable. It's like having the latest iPhone on the table, which you are using exactly like the older smartphones: calls, texts, and social media.

It also tried the Hydrogen Fuel-Cell solution with the Clarity, but it seems like the carmaker has lost its interest in continuing the program and switched to BEV development. Moreover, like BMW, it created a separate brand for its electric cars, Honda e:N, which has already developed a production model in China, the e:N SUV, which will be followed by a sedan and a coupe. Together with its local partner Dongfeng, Honda China has developed two platforms; thus, it has paved the way for future products. So will we see an electric Acura soon? Most definitely yes.

Hyundai-Kia

Even though the new Sportage is just a mild hybrid, there are other electric-powered vehicles in the Korean carmaker's lineup. The Kia EV6 and the Hyundai Ioniq are just a few examples. Now, the carmaker works on other cars to share the same platform with these two. So, will we see an electric Sportage in the future? Maybe it will not be named Sportage, but Kia doesn't want to lose that nameplate. It is already famous worldwide, and this crossover will get more traction (pun intended) when it gets an electric powertrain. Meanwhile, the Ioniq 5 targets a range of 300 miles (483 km) on a single charge for the single-motor version.

Toyota

Toyota is the brand responsible for the hybrid-powered revolution thanks to its ugly-duckling, the Prius. Now, it has evolved and offers the NX with plug-in technology. The carmaker thought that hydrogen was a more feasible solution, and it introduced the Toyota Mirai, which is already on its second generation. It is a hydrogen-powered vehicle, which might be successful thanks to its short recharging time, but lacks filling stations and logistics for that.

Lately, it revealed its new plans on launching not one but an entire range of BEVs by 2030. In addition, it announced that it will sell 3.5 million electric cars and, surely, it can't do that with only one model. As for Lexus, it will become fully electric by 2035 for the entire world, but on these shores will be electric-only in less than 8 years.

We also saw a shy presence of Chinese BEV carmakers on American soil. For now, they are not that important. Yet, maybe we should consider their will to conquer this electric-only segment with their pricing policies. Sure, for now, their vehicles are not suitable for American roads. But that may change the same way the cell phone makers did in the past and are already on top of other famous brands.

Not long ago, Xiaomi announced that it will develop an electric car, and that's just the beginning. Just don't be surprised if you'll see more Chinese cars plugged in at your nearby charging station in the next couple of years.