While we wait for the coronavirus emergency to pass, we've decided to tell you about the most interesting 2020 newcomers in the electric car landscape. Part one: the Fiat 500 electric, Dacia Spring, DS Aero Sport and Renault Morphoz.
The automotive industry, despite enormous difficulties, has not ground to a halt and, following the recent conversion initiatives to support the coronavirus emergency, is now preparing for a return to normality. It is doing so by picking up again from sustainable mobility, with a range of low-emission electric cars that we were largely supposed to see at the cancelled Geneva Motor Show and that we have decided to tell you about in this two-part electric cars special 2020. We start with the long-awaited Fiat 500 electric, whose launch campaign featured Leonardo DiCaprio, and continue with the Dacia Spring, DS Aero Sport and Renault Morphoz concepts.
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The queen of electric cars — if nothing else because it marks a significant first for Fca, setting aside that earlier electric version that caused Sergio Marchionne such concern — is the new 500 Full Electric. An entirely new car that brings to market all the electrification technology potential developed in Turin. The platform is new, as are the systems relating to driver assistance devices. It will be exclusively electric, while coexisting alongside the current Fiat 500 fitted with internal combustion and mild-hybrid units. The electric model is 3 metres 61 centimetres long and 1 metre 69 wide — larger dimensions than the "other" Fiat 500. As for the electric components, the motor delivers 118 horsepower, while the lithium-ion battery pack has a capacity of 42 kWh. A figure that, according to the WLTP homologation cycle, guarantees 320 kilometres of range, rising to 400 for city use alone. The car is equipped with an 85 kW charger, which allows it to "gain" 50 kilometres of range in 5 minutes, provided a rapid-charging point is available. When charging at home via the dedicated 7.4 kW wallbox, a full charge takes 6 hours. The self-limited top speed is 150 km/h. The 0–100 km/h sprint takes 9 seconds. The new electric 500 is already available to order in the La Prima version — a fully loaded specification — at a price of €37,900 (from which any applicable national and regional incentives may be deducted). Less well-equipped variants at lower prices will follow in due course.
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Across the Alps, electric mobility is certainly a more established reality than in Italy, above all because both on the Psa side (the group that brings together the Peugeot, Citroën and Opel brands) and on the Renault side, the available offering is decidedly broader. With mass electrification in mind, the show car put forward by Dacia is particularly interesting: the Spring. It is essentially a version bearing the low-cost badge of a model already present within the Renault orbit, the City K-Ze — a compact electric SUV already on sale in China — from which it largely borrows its shape and dimensions. The Dacia Spring duly falls within the compact car segment, measuring just 3.7 metres in length while still offering seating for four. It is expected to have a range of around 200 kilometres, though no further details have been released at this stage. The production version will be available from 2021.
Spectacular in its own right, the Morphoz concept from Renault previews an electric crossover that could arrive in 2025. Built on a platform developed specifically for the group's battery-powered vehicles, it can physically extend in length depending on the selected driving mode. In City mode the car measures 4.40 metres in length. In Travel mode, the vehicle "moves" to a length of 4.80 metres, while the wheelbase grows from 2.73 metres to 2.93. How? At the front section, at the level of the A-pillars, the car's nose literally extends. Changes are also visible at the rear bonnet section. In this way, at dedicated service stations (these remain at the project stage — nothing is concrete at present), the car can incorporate a second battery pack to increase its range. A pack that, upon returning to the city, can be "returned" at a dedicated point in the same way. In City mode the capacity is 40 kWh for a range of 400 kilometres; in Travel mode a further 50 kWh are added, bringing the total range to 700 kilometres.
Still on the subject of electric cars, equally spectacular but less futuristic is the DS Aero Sport Lounge. An SUV for green-minded excursions whose powertrain draws heavily on the experience gained in the Formula E World Championship. It delivers as much as 680 horsepower at peak output and features a 110 kWh battery pack — so much so that the French manufacturer has declared a range of 650 kilometres and a 0–100 km/h time of 2.8 seconds.