Home - AFV Events - Auto Shows - 2023 L.A. Auto Show
I wasn't able to make it to the Los Angeles Auto Show last year at the LA Convention Center, but this year my wife again urged me to go visit my family in Phoenix on my Dad's birthday, and to see the auto show beforehand. I spent most of the day at the show on its final Saturday, 25 November 2023, not just a few hours during a long layover as I did at the 2021 show; and there was certainly a lot to see!
I of course focus on alternative-fueled vehicles at auto shows, so you'd expect them to occupy most of my attention; however, it definitely felt like electric vehicles (EVs) were more central to many automakers' displays this year than at previous shows. Even where they were mixed in with internal-combustion vehicles, they often seemed to have pride of place; for example, right inside the main South Hall entrance, Hyundai displayed several vehicles from their "N" series of high-performance variants of their lineup, and this Ioniq 5 N was first in line. The inherent low-end torque of an electric motor means that just about any electric vehicle can be pretty zippy from a standing start; even my family's base-model Nissan LEAF steps off the line smartly. And because electric motors with high peak power are not dramatically less efficient in normal driving than less powerful ones, unlike the case for internal-combustion engines, electric vehicles that are simply fast are not uncommon. However, reviewers have praised the Ioniq 5 N highly for its combination of power, handling, and just plain fun. One reviewer felt it was the "rowdiest" EV that he'd driven! He also liked the optional simulated shifting behavior and simulated engine sounds, which are not very attractive to me -- I prefer that a vehicle be what it is, not pretend to be what it is not, i.e., a powerful gasoline car. Regardless of my opinion on that, though, it seems that this vehicle is very worthy to carry the "N" designation!
Test drives of numerous vehicles were available at "Electric Avenue" outside the convention center; unfortunately, I didn't have time to go out to that while I was at the show (too much to see inside!). However, Hyundai also had a short test track set up indoors next to their display where visitors could go along for a ride with a professional driver (for safety in the close quarters) and experience something of the acceleration capabilities of electric vehicles. I don't think they had the Ioniq 5 N in the mix, but visitors could ride in the Ioniq 5 or the new Ioniq 6 (starting at $37,500 but currently available only "at select dealers in select states"). Along with Electric Avenue outside, this doubtless introduced many people to electric vehicles who had never driven or ridden in one before, and demonstrated that they are far from the stereotypical "golf carts."
Hyundai's corporate sibling, Kia, had lots of signage to let you know that their EV6 had won the 2023 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year award. They also had these EV3 (farther away in the photo) and EV4 prototypes on display, which should enter production in a couple of years.
They are going for a repeat win with their new EV9, which is just starting deliveries (they had preproduction models on display) and which is a finalist for the 2024 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year award. The box to the left of the vehicle is a bidirectional charger, which will enable the EV9 to supply backup electrical power from its battery pack to a house "for up to three days" in the event of a utility grid outage.
Ford's F-150 Lightning also offers a bidirectional charger; the two systems are not compatible with each other, which means you'll have to replace the charger (not cheap, compared with a standard unidirectional charger) as well as the vehicle if you switch brands. Efforts are underway to develop standards for bidirectional charging (also called Vehicle to Load or Vehicle to Grid, V2L or V2G respectively), so that you can use any combination of compliant vehicle and charger the same way you can use standard J1772 charging gear with any vehicle; we're not there yet, though. Ford brought this truck and the Mustang Mach-X but no new vehicles; however, I was told that the first vehicle to be produced in 2026 by the new BlueOval City factory under construction in Tennessee will be a dedicated electric pickup, not a conversion of an internal-combustion-engine model like the F-150 or the electric Ranger of the late 1990s. It will be intermediate in size between the F-150 and the Ranger, which will open a new segment of the automobile market to electrification.
Chevrolet is another automaker that centered much of their display around their electric offerings; their theme was "EVs for Everyone," and in addition to their current Bolt car and Bolt EUV they brought this new electric Equinox, the Silverado full-size pickup behind it, and the Blazer (mostly hidden in this photo). The Equinox is available now and the Blazer is just starting deliveries; the Silverado will be available to fleets in about a year, with consumer sales to follow. I would not be surprised if, like the F-150 Lightning, it offers lots of jobsite-ready 110V and 220V power outlets as well as V2G capability. The Blazer won the 2024 MotorTrend SUV of the Year award, so it's making a strong start.
Volkswagen brought their new ID.7 and ID Buzz, the latter being an electric descendant of their classic microbus; these are European production models, with US availability at the end of next year as 2025 models. I thought the glowing VW logo on its nose really made the ID Buzz prototype that I saw several years ago; unfortunately, that kind of thing is illegal in Europe (boo!). However, they also brought a prototype of the US model, and it will have the glowing logo. The ID.7 will share the same 82 kWh battery pack as the current ID.4 and the ID Buzz will have 91 kWh; however, both will have a next-generation powertrain that is more efficient, providing longer range than the ID.4 offers. Volkswagen also had an indoor test track, again for rides with professional drivers, which they shared with the nearby Nissan display.
Toyota's theme was "The Power of Choice" -- their emphasis is on a range of electrified vehicles led by non-plug-in hybrids (not surprising, considering the mindshare that has been held by the Prius for decades) but also including plug-in hybrids, the bZ4X battery-only electric vehicle, and the Mirai fuel-cell vehicle. Pride of place was given to this forthcoming 2025 Crown Signia, which I think is offered in a fuel-cell version in Japan but will only be available in the US as a non-plug-in hybrid.
Speaking of fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs), someone in the Hyundai display told me that they were thinking of bring their Nexo FCV to Hawaii, where I live. Since the only public hydrogen refueling station there is at the Servco Toyota dealership in Honolulu, they'd have to either build out more stations or cut a deal with Toyota, and so when I went to the Toyota display I asked Maggie Clark, a.k.a. #MaggieMirai, who is the most knowledgeable person I've spoken to with regard to fuel-cell vehicles in the real world. She hadn't heard anything like this, so any plans being considered must not be very far along at all; I won't hold my breath. Hyundai is offering a heck of a discount in places where the vehicle is currently offered, though: $33,000 off the approximately $60,000 vehicle, and 0% financing for six years! Plus the standard $15,000 of free fuel, which is a necessity for drivers with hydrogen prices currently being the equivalent of over $26 per gallon of gasoline.
Honda had an FCV, the Clarity, which was discontinued a couple of years ago; there were also a plug-in hybrid version and a battery-only EV version. Since then, they have not offered any plug-in vehicles, but (like Toyota) they are developing a range of battery EVs to offer in the near future. The first will be this Prologue, which is a crossover-style SUV like many other automakers' offerings due to the popularity of such vehicles in the US market. It is expected to have a 300-mile range and price tag in the high $40,000s range, and should be available in all 50 states in spring of next year. They also brought their "Motocompacto" folding electric scooter for test rides outside, and they had a hybrid concept on display that revived the classic Prelude name (I wonder if I should read anything into the fact that Prologue is to books as Prelude is to music?).
Acura also has a forthcoming battery EV, the ZDX, which will be their first all-electric vehicle. This will also arrive in early 2024, starting in the $60,000s; it will offer range over 300 miles per charge, and in Type S configuration it will have around 500 HP, becoming the most powerful Acura SUV ever.
In one respect this year's auto show was disappointing: most of the European carmakers (except VW!) were altogether absent. I did see a Volvo C40 Recharge and a Polestar 2 at the Galpin EV display (the Galpin dealership and specialty-vehicle network always has a big presence at the L. A. Auto Show), and I also saw a couple of Rivian R1T pickups from the Rebelle Rally among a collection of off-road vehicles in the OVRLand Outpost hosted by Outdoor Vehicle Recreation (OVR) Magazine. However, Lucid was most definitely present, with a very large display that included lots of signage listing all the awards and accolades that have been earned by their Air sedan (MotorTrend 2022 Car of the Year and 2023 Best Luxury Electric Car among them); I think this is the first time they've come to this auto show. The new Sapphire in the foreground of this photo is just beginning deliveries; it can be equipped with range over 400 miles per charge and power up to 1234 HP (!).
As I mentioned at top, I went to the show on its second to last day, so I read a lot of press coverage during the week between the show opening and my visit. The vehicle that seemed to be generating the most excitement was this new Lucid Gravity SUV (also visible behind the Sapphire in the previous photo). I read praise of both the vehicle's performance and refinement; personally, I liked this roll-out seat that converts the "frunk" (front trunk, possible in many EVs because the front motor sits lower than the engine of a gasoline vehicle) into something like the rear "rumble seats" of a century ago, though unlike those it's not for use while in motion, of course!
Let me close with a couple of truly unusual vehicles. This is the Pebble Flow, a trailer that is specifically designed for electric vehicles. Towing a trailer can severely reduce the range of an EV, so this one comes with a 45 kWh battery pack (bigger than the one in our 2023 Nissan LEAF!) that can not only power all the comforts of home while on the road, but can also be used to drive the trailer's wheels to take some of the load off the towing vehicle! Optionally, it can even be equipped to drive itself to hook up to the trailer hitch. It starts at $109,000, and is planned to start deliveries in about a year.
Finally, this is the Verge electric motorcycle. The motor is inside the rear wheel, but this is no hub motor as you'll often find on, say, electric mopeds; rather, the motor is a ring, with the orange cables bringing power to it from the battery pack up front. This means that your eyes are not fooling you, the middle of the rear wheel really is open like a lightcycle from Tron!
Several years ago I noted that EVs were becoming common enough that there were too many models at the L. A. Auto Show for me to show all of them, and certainly I left out many at this iteration of the show that aren't new this year. The future is now, not only motorcycles with lightcycle wheels but with daily drivers like our Nissan LEAF; a quarter century ago, when I began this website, I could hardly have imagined the way EVs are storming the mainstream today! A lot of us think it could (and should) have begun a lot sooner, but it's good to see that the revolution that we need is happening now.
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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 16 December 2023