Home - AFV Events - Auto Shows - 2021 L.A. Auto Show
A few months after I visited the 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show, the pandemic shut down travel, conventions, and just about everything else. Auto shows were held virtually if at all for a year or more; however, two years later, and with careful attention to masks and vaccination, the 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show is back at the LA Convention Center. My very tolerant wife cut me loose to visit my Dad and family in Arizona, and on the way back home to Hawaii I again scheduled a long layover at LAX, rented a car, and went to the show on Tuesday, 23 November 2021.
As the American automobile market moves more and more from cars to trucks and SUVs, the mix of plug-in vehicles is changing with it, with crossover SUVs making up a large fraction of new models and full-size electric pickups and SUVs beginning to enter the market as well. Toyota was part of the first abortive flowering of modern electric vehicles (EVs) in the late 1990s with an electric RAV4-EV compact SUV, and they produced another version in 2012-2014. Their focus has, however, mostly been on hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) that can't be plugged in (not surprising, given their lead in that market -- say "hybrid" and most people picture a Prius), though they have introduced plug-in hybrid (PHEV) versions of the Prius and RAV4. They also have the lead in the introduction of fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs) with the Mirai, a much-improved version of which was introduced at this show two years ago. However, they are now returning to the batteries-only EV market in a big way, including seven models planned under the Toyota "bZ" brand name. bZ stands for "beyond Zero," and refers to the company's plans to become carbon-neutral overall by 2050 (beyond just the tailpipe emissions, or lack thereof, from the vehicles they make); the first vehicle in the lineup will be this bZ4X crossover SUV, premiering in production form at this show. It will first be available in California, and in states that have adopted its zero-emission-vehicle (ZEV) rules, in mid-2022 as a 2023 model. Price has not yet been set; range will be up to 250 miles, with 80% recharge possible in an hour, and front-wheel drive (FWD) and all-wheel drive (AWD) versions will be offered. I am planning to trade in what I firmly intend to be our last gasoline vehicle, also a compact SUV, around then, and I certainly hope the bZ4X will make it to 50-state availability in time for my family to consider it as a replacement!
Another vehicle we'll look at will be the Kia EV6, which will be available in all 50 states in March as a 2022 model, starting in the "low $40k" price range before tax credits or other incentives that your state or city may offer. Interestingly, the base model will be rear-wheel drive (RWD) rather than the more common FWD, with AWD available. This particular vehicle undertook a cross-country drive from New York City to Los Angeles just before the show, and set a new record for shortest amount of time spent recharging enroute: a little over seven hours, compared with the previous record set by Tesla that was over twelve hours. This is a combination of the efficiency of the vehicle and the fast recharging capability, 10% to 80% in 18 minutes. I don't know if the latter will be an extra-cost option, but all models will benefit from the efficiency! Another option will be a "vehicle-to-load" (V2L) capability that will let the EV6 power external tools, appliances, or whatever, up to 1.9 kilowatts (kW); the base battery capacity will be 58 kilowatt-hours (kWh), so you can run such a load for quite awhile without draining the battery pack appreciably.
Kia is also planning to introduce a wider range of EV models, as well as continuing the Niro (the electric Kia Soul is out of production). This is the larger EV9 SUV; there was no information on when such a vehicle might become available, but the concept vehicle looked pretty close to ready for production.
I was also interested to see the new Nissan Ariya crossover -- so interested in talking to the product specialist, in fact, that I forgot to shoot a photo! Duh. Anyway, this will be available in late 2022 in all 50 states, in four trim/equipment levels starting at $45k before credits and incentives. We'll definitely consider this, as we've been very pleased with our Nissan LEAF; however, we did have to replace the LEAF's battery pack (under warranty, and they gave us a bigger pack as a replacement, so I'm not complaining!), and so I was also happy to hear that the Ariya will have a liquid-cooling system for the batteries rather than air-cooling like the LEAF, which will do a better job of keeping the battery pack healthy.
Hyundai introduced their IONIQ line of "electrified" (HEV, PHEV, EV) cars at the 2016 LA Auto Show, and subsequently introduced an electric version of the Kona compact SUV. They are discontinuing the original EV version of the IONIQ, but more than making up for it with this new 2022 IONIQ 5 crossover (and watch for the product placement in "Spider-Man: No Way Home" in December). Unfortunately for me, at least initially it will be available only in California and other "ZEV states", in December 2021 or January 2022. Price will start at $40k before credits and incentives.
At the 2018 LA Auto Show, Subaru introduced their first vehicle with a plug, the Crosstrek PHEV. This year they brought their first plug-only EV, the 2023 Solterra, which will be available in all 50 states in mid-2022. Given Subaru's off-road focus, it's perhaps not surprising that the base model will have dual motors and AWD, which is an extra-cost upgrade on every other EV of which I'm aware.
Another very offroad-focused brand is Jeep, and they brought their first plug-in vehicle to this show, the Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon 4xe. It has been available for a few months, and indeed after I went home I saw two in Hawaii in the space of two days, so they're out there. The Jeep full-line brochure describes its powertrain as a "2.0-liter I-4 [gasoline] engine with mild-hybrid technology"; I'm not sure why the phrase "mild hybrid" is used, as that usually indicates that the electric motor is only sized to assist the gasoline engine and is too small to power the vehicle on its own, but the 4xe (pronounced "four-by-E") can go 25 miles on battery power alone. A Grand Cherokee 4xe using the same powertrain will be offered in early 2022.
This year's show had an interesting mix of automakers present and absent. Volkswagen had a test-drive area outside that I didn't have time to seek out, but no indoor presence and they don't seem to have brought their new ID.4 electric compact SUV (winner of the 2021 World Car of the Year award). Chevrolet was present but GMC wasn't, so I couldn't take a look at their forthcoming Hummer electric trucks. However, several new automakers did have displays, both in the main halls and out in the foyers, including Fisker with their new Ocean SUV. People who've been following alternative-fueled vehicles for awhile will remember the Fisker Karma luxury PHEV from a decade ago, which evolved into the Karma Revero vehicles I saw at the 2019 LA Auto Show. The new Fisker company is not connected to the old, defunct one, except through the founders; their focus this time around is on vehicles much more in my price range! The Ocean will start at $37.5k, lower than many of the competitors I saw at this show, with 50-state availability sometime in 2022 (though, as usual, one would expect the higher-end models, up to $69k, to be produced first.)
I've been showing one electric compact SUV after another, mainly because there are a lot of new offerings in that segment this year (and probably also because one of these will most likely be my family's next purchase). However, the best-selling vehicles in the USA are pickup trucks, and the best-selling vehicle in the USA for many years has been the Ford F-150. At the 2018 LA Auto Show, Rivian broke their startup cover in spectacular fashion, with a main-hall presence showing their full-size pickup and SUV right next to Ford's display; they were not at this edition of the show, though they have started deliveries. Ford fired back with all guns this year, though, rolling out the 2022 F-150 Lightning, an all-electric pickup designed to cover all the markets from work to luxury that are addressed by the gasoline version, and with prices to match, from under $40k to $95k. (An electric version of the Transit full-size van is also in the works, though not present at this show.) Only the four-door short-box version shown here will be offered at launch in mid-2022, though one would expect other variants to appear over time.
The F-150 Lightning will offer the ability to power a jobsite or even to power a home, replacing a gasoline backup generator for days on end in the event of a power outage. The power capacity in either case is 9.6 kW; for V2L (vehicle to load), this can be tapped through up to eleven outlets in the cab, bed, and "frunk" (front trunk, since there is no internal-combustion engine taking up space under the hood), with one being a 240-volt outlet and the rest 110-volt. To power a home, the truck will need to have a dedicated Ford-branded bi-directional charging station installed where it parks; this will serve to charge the truck like any home charger (albeit a powerful one, at 9.6 kW or 40 amps on a 240-volt circuit), but if the home's power goes out then it will seamlessly turn around and send power back to the house from the truck's battery pack until the utility grid comes back online. As far as I'm aware, this is the first time any electric vehicle has offered this capability as a regular option, but I'm sure it won't be the last.
I mentioned Rivian as the first automaker to begin deliveries of full-size electric trucks. Another competitor not present this year was Bollinger, which had two vehicles on display under the main escalator to the West Hall of the L. A. Convention Center in 2019. This year, that space was occupied by Edison Future, showing their EF1-T and EF1-V pickup and cargo van (which were much sleeker than Bollinger's no-nonsense boxes!). Edison Future's parent companies, Phoenix Motorcars and SPI energy, have been converting medium-duty shuttle buses and trucks to electric power for 17 years; this is their first foray into the consumer market. Though prices weren't available yet, and delivery is not expected to begin until mid-2024 (in California and other ZEV states), their stated intent is to be "competitive with Rivian."
Other exhibitors that I had not seen before at this show included Mullen, who plan to begin "large-scale production" of the Mullen FIVE compact SUV in late 2024. I had also never seen vehicles from VinFast, who premiered their e35 and e36 electric crossover SUVs at this show and had them on display in the main hall. VinFast started making gasoline vehicles in Vietnam in 2017, and intends to bring these electric vehicles to California, Canada, and Europe in late 2022.
Of course, trucks and SUVs haven't completely taken over the US auto market. The Lucid Air luxury electric sedan recently started deliveries, and the car just won the 2022 MotorTrend Car of the Year "Golden Calipers," so I was disappointed that they weren't at this show. Going down in size from there, though, Imperium Motor Company had a big display in the lobby showing a variety of scooters, low-speed and off-street vehicles (their parent company, DSG, has roots in the golf cart industry), as well as a few road-ready vehicles. Also out in the lobby were these ElectraMeccanica Solo single-seat, three-wheel EVs. ElectraMeccanica's parent company, InterMeccanica, has been building restorations, replicas, and custom cars for over sixty years, including an electric replica of the 1959 Porsche 356A also on display in the lobby, and they are now selling the Solo in California. They plan to expand beyond that market once other states change their laws to allow people to drive three-wheeled vehicles, which are legally considered motorcycles, without a motorcycle license or a helmet. California made this change decades ago, at the impetus of the similarly-configured Corbin Sparrow (subsequently the Myers Motors NmG). So, even while most of the nation's fleet seems to be moving toward ever-bigger vehicles, there's still action at the small end of the spectrum!
While enthusiasts like myself may have had our first drives in EVs twenty or thirty years ago, and millions of owners in the USA will have driven the many recent options that have been introduced in the last decade, there are still plenty of people who don't know what it's like to drive on electricity rather than internal combustion. To give them their first taste, the Auto Show and Electrify America set up an indoor test-drive track where various models from Porsche, MINI, Hyundai, and Kia were available. This thing was huge, taking up the space of two or three large automaker displays; the wide-angle photo only shows about a third of it. I didn't have time to get behind the wheel there; I also didn't have time to step outside to test-drive an ElectraMeccanica Solo on the streets around the Convention Center. What I really regret missing out on, though, was the short drag track set up by Ford, where they gave riders a taste of a couple of seconds of the acceleration of a Mustang Mach-E GT, which (if the track were longer) would take it up to 60 MPH in less than four seconds!
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All content copyright 1998-2024 by Mark Looper, except as noted. Reuse of my copyrighted material is authorized under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0).
new 28 November 2021