The premium electric vehicle market is getting totally amped up.
According to a Gallup poll, only 4% of Americans owned an electric vehicle (EV) approximately one year ago. But in cities like San Francisco, Seattle, Austin, and Detroit, it is nearly impossible to drive down a freeway and not see electric vehicles sharing the lanes. Just over a decade ago, Tesla was the only recognizable automaker in the game. But since then, more luxury car manufacturers have entered the EV space.
Competitive EVs from German brands BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Audi are coming to market. Italy’s Maserati recently debuted its GranTurismo Folgore line. British automakers unveiled the Rolls-Royce Spectre and Jaguar’s I-PACE, and just last year, South Korea’s Genesis rolled its first EVs off the assembly line, while General Motors debuted Cadillac’s Lyriq.
Lucid Gravity SUV (Photo courtesy of Lucid Motors)
Plenty more EVs are on the way worldwide, especially since nearly every recognizable gas-powered car manufacturer has either committed to making its entire lineup electric by 2030 or announced it expects half of its sales to be EVs by then. “We’re deeply convinced the entire automotive industry will be transitioning to electric in the next one to two decades,” says spokesperson Genevieve Grdina for Rivian, the first automaker to bring a fully electric pickup truck to consumers.
Premium brands like Rivian, Tesla, Lucid Motors, and Polestar have steadily released all-electric vehicles for a while now, yet anyone committed to the traditional dealership model of car buying might not have seen them coming. For example, initially—because of restrictive laws forbidding direct-to-consumer car sales—EV pioneer Tesla had to innovate. The brand focused on creating showrooms by leasing spaces in upscale, high-traffic malls, attracting buyers who a) could likely afford pricier cars, b) embraced innovation and technology, and c) were concerned about issues like pollution and climate change.
Left: 2025 Porsche Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo (Photo courtesy of Porsche) Top Right: INEOS Fusilier in shale blue (metallic) (Photo courtesy of INEOS) Bottom Right: Faraday Future interiors for the FF 91 2.0 Futurist Alliance (Photo courtesy of Faraday Future)
Showroom visitors learned about EVs, test-drove Teslas, and were guided through an online ordering process. Buyers started accepting the showroom concept, noting how the experience was a refreshing departure from the norm. “Putting our product [Rivian], people, and mission at the center of the experience creates an environment that we hope will help demystify EV ownership,” Grdina explains.
Sweden’s Polestar also follows this up-front concept, so what the customer sees is what they pay.
From the parking lot, EVs generally look like gas-powered cars. But the interior is an entirely different picture. The seats are made of vegan leather, storage exists under the hood (since the electric motor takes up less space than an internal combustion engine), and giant computer screens have replaced most, if not all, of the dials and buttons.
For example, the entirely bespoke Cadillac Celestiq has a 55-inch HD dashboard, while the rear-seat entertainment system in BMW’s i7 provides a 31-inch screen that drops from the ceiling. “Software is at the center of the EV experience,” explains Grdina. Often, while drivers are asleep in their beds, EVs get regular software updates at no extra cost that can improve ride quality and vehicle handling.
In truth, EVs already come loaded with countless features that most gas-powered cars simply cannot offer. Tesla might lead the pack with its autopilot and full self-driving capabilities plus Smart Summon, which enables the driverless vehicle to leave a parking spot and pick up its owner elsewhere via a mobile app. EV startup Faraday Future, which recently started manufacturing in California, delivered seven new FF 91 2.0 Futurist Alliances just last year, each with bespoke, private AI. And inside a Polestar, the “Hey, Google” feature will get you any information you might need.
The first Mercedes-Benz Charging Hub in North America, located at Mercedes-Benz USA Headquarters in Sandy Springs, GA. Charging hub customers can enjoy a premium, clean, and comfortable environment while their vehicle charges, complete with couches and lounge chairs, vending machines, refreshments, and restroom facilities (Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz)
Then there is the matter of quickness: EV motors are more powerful than gasoline engines. And, once Porsche releases its electric 2025 Taycan Turbo S, drivers will learn about a new “push-to-pass” function yielding an output of 938 horsepower. Late-night trips to gas stations are a thing of the past, too—instead, buyers can charge at home, on a public charging network, or at shopping centers nationwide. Rivian and Tesla have a proprietary network of fast chargers, while Mercedes-Benz just announced plans for 400 high-powered hubs by 2027. Polestar is currently working with StoreDot to incorporate extremely fast charging batteries in its cars—to the tune of 100 miles of range charged in just five minutes.
Anyone who follows the progress of EVs knows this new, electric world is battling concerns like “range anxiety” (running out of charge mid-journey), the scarcity of charging stations, the nation’s grid capacity, the cost of extracting lithium for batteries, and how to dispose of used batteries. And while these concerns are legitimate, EV manufacturers are tackling them with an eye on the big picture.
“The way our global society operates today, in only a few generations, we will carbonize our atmosphere to such a degree that life as we know it will not be possible,” Grdina states. “If our planet is to continue to sustain life [for] future generations, we have to change. This requires individuals and industries to come together in ways we never have before to transition the world toward sustainable energy. We want people pushing each other to innovate.” Premium and luxury car manufacturers are heeding this call and continuing to move forward in the EV space.
