Happy New Year, happy new wheels.
Automakers ring in 2023 with an array of fresh sleds from pickups to SUVs to electric vehicles. New offerings will come from startups and legacy automakers alike — including established brands looking to remake themselves with premium electric badges.
EVs have found the premium market the most fertile soil for growth as battery costs are high and heading higher. Ford’s base F-150 Lightning Pro, for example, started 2022 with a sticker price of $42,000 then ballooned to $59,000, a 40% price hike. Mainstream badges like Kia (the EV6 GT) and Chevy (Blazer SS) are going luxe with $60,000 EVs. The flood of new electrics is key to automaker plans to meet stringent government emissions rules so they don’t get tripped up with big fines like, say, Stellantis suffered in ‘22.
