Most car buyers would agree that automobile brands Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Porsche and Tesla (TSLA) -) vehicles are luxury cars. Other brands such as Lexus, BMW, Audi and Volvo also fall into the luxury category, as well.
Some debate exists on whether the Tesla Model 3, the company's lowest priced vehicle at $32,740 on its website, qualifies as a luxury vehicle. A recent search of trade publications shows that most EV trade publications consider the Model 3 a luxury car, though some have referred to it as a "near luxury car." But everyone seems to agree the Tesla Model Y (starting at $40,240), Model S and Model X qualify as luxury vehicles.
Forget Tesla – We’re all-in on this EV stock
And what about Tesla's new Cybertruck, which the company says it will deliver at the end of the third quarter, likely in late September. Is Cybertruck a luxury vehicle? Tesla's new pickup truck is expected to be priced at more than $40,000, but below Ford's (F) -) F-150 Lightning's price of $49,995, which Tesla CEO Elon Musk called "somewhat expensive." Cybertruck will be Tesla's first new model since it brought out the Model Y SUV in March 2019.
Tesla, however, has bragging rights as the leading company in the EV industry with about 889,000 cars delivered in the first half of 2023 through June 30. Its Model Y SUV also became the world's best-selling car with about 267,200 vehicles sold in the first three months of the year ahead of Toyota (TM) -), which sold 256,400 Corolla units and 214,700 RAV4 vehicles worldwide.
Ford's lowest-priced EV today is the Mustang Mach-E Select starting at $42,995 and rising to $59,995 for the Mustang Mach-E GT. BMW's (BMWYY) -) Mini Cooper SE Hardtop is priced as low as $30,900.
Luxury EVs Compete Against Tesla
Fisker (FSR) -) has its Ocean SUV electric vehicle that starts at $37,499, but for true luxury, Fisker will unveil on Aug. 3 its Ronin four-door convertible GT sports luxury EV sedan with an expected starting price of $200,000 beginning in 2025. The EV will seat five and have a 600-mile range.
Other luxury contributions include, Honda (HMC) -) and General Motors (GM) -) joining forces to introduce the Acura ZDX that's scheduled to be released in 2024, which will use GM's Ultium battery platform. Nissan's (NSANY) -) Infiniti luxury division plans to have its new concept vehicle ready to deliver in 2026.
Aston Martin has a new partnership with Lucid (LCID) -) with plans to deliver its first all-electric EV in 2025. GM in May said that Cadillac will launch an electric version of the iconic full-size Cadillac Escalade SUV later this year.
Volvo Debuts Its EX30 SUV
Volvo (VLVLY) -) has ramped up its fully electric vehicle program as it sold 66,749 EVs in 2022 for a 159.5% increase over 25,727 sold in 2021. Fully electric cars amounted to almost 11% of all of Volvo's sales in 2022. The company in March 2021 committed to be fully electric by 2030, with 50% of global sales all electric by 2025.
The Swedish luxury brand's first pure electric crossover C40 Recharge starts at $55,300 with 226 miles of range, and its all-electric compact SUV XC40 Recharge starts at $53,550. The company on July 25 debuted its newest and smallest SUV, the Volvo EX30, at a New York event and will begin taking orders for the vehicle in fall 2023.
The Volvo EX30 will accelerate 0 to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds and have an estimated range up to 275 miles. The vehicle's starting price is $34,950, and deliveries are expected to begin in summer 2024. The company plans to showcase the vehicle at Electrify Expo events in New York in August, Seattle in September, Miami in October and Austin, Texas, in November.
