News Beat
As an EV editor, these are the electric cars I’m most excited about in 2026
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If you thought last year was a busy one for electric car launches, you ain’t seen nothing yet. 2026 will bring even more new EVs and plug-in hybrids, including a wave of new brands you may not have heard of… yet.
Let’s start there with what’s set to be the first of those new brands to arrive in the UK: AION. This Chinese marque is part of GAC – yet another multi-brand automotive giant – and is currently setting up shop in the UK with an established management team, which is always a good sign.
Expect two well-priced models from AION in 2026: the AION UT, a small hatchback with a claimed range of 268 miles, and the AION V, a boxy mid-size SUV promising a 317-mile range. All AION models will also beat Kia’s seven-year warranty by a full year.
At the other end of the scale, BYD’s luxury brand Denza will launch in the UK this summer, starting with the Denza Z9 GT. This Porsche Taycan rival certainly looks the part and will act as a showcase for BYD’s technology, including ultra-fast charging. The large Denza B5 plug-in hybrid SUV will also arrive, taking aim at Land Rover.
BYD itself will continue its onward march in the UK this year, with the Sealion 5 DM-i plug-in hybrid arriving first, followed by more models later in the year.
Back to Land Rover and – at last – we should finally see its first all-electric model go on sale in the form of the Range Rover Electric. I’ve had a taste of it on a pre-production drive and it’s everything you’d expect: luxurious, silent, powerful and still hugely capable off-road.
On the other side of the JLR fence, the covers will come off the long-awaited new Jaguar GT (could it be called Type 01, following on from the Type 00 concept?). I’ve seen the car that will be unveiled this summer and even had a ride in it. I reckon the car itself will be good enough to rival Britain’s other luxury brands – whether the Jaguar brand will be is another matter.
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Bentley isn’t standing still on electrification either. It already offers a strong line-up of plug-in hybrids, but its first full EV – dubbed a ‘Luxury Urban SUV’ – is also due to break cover this year.
It’s not all about luxury, though. There will be plenty of more affordable EVs, led by the Volkswagen Group. Its range of small cars was previewed at last year’s Munich Motor Show, and first out of the traps in 2026 is likely to be the Cupra Raval. The new Volkswagen ID.Polo – heralding a fresh naming strategy for the brand – will also arrive, alongside Skoda’s Epiq, a small SUV that channels the spirit of the much-missed Skoda Yeti.
A new Nissan Micra will also go on sale, while another British-built Nissan EV – the new Nissan Juke – is likely to be revealed before the end of the year. The Micra shares much with Renault, which will be pushing its excellent all-electric 5 and 4 models this year, along with the new Renault Twingo, which I previewed last year.
Renault’s sporty premium brand and F1 team, Alpine, will have the Alpine A390 family model in showrooms too, while an all-electric successor to the A110 sports car could be one of the highlights of this year’s Paris Motor Show.
It’s almost a year since I first drove the brilliant Fiat Grande Panda, but it’s finally about to arrive in UK Fiat showrooms. At the same time, the Italian brand has slashed prices on its other EVs, the 500e and 600e.
Given Kia’s recent success – it has won the last two World Car Awards with the EV3 and EV9 – expectations are high for the EV5, which is just about to go on sale, followed by the smaller EV2. Hyundai, meanwhile, will take a sportier approach with the excellent Ioniq 6 N, which I had great fun driving last year.
Peugeot will launch its own fun car in the form of the 208 GTi, while smaller, cheaper EVs are expected from Omoda with the Omoda 4 and from Geely with the Geely EX2. Changan will also follow up its Deepal S07 with the new Deepal S05, which has been engineered here in the UK.
We’ll also see longer ranges become the norm, with the benchmark being the 500-mile BMW iX3. It won’t be the only all-electric BMW arriving this year, while the Mercedes GLB will attempt to challenge both the iX and the big-selling Tesla Model Y, now available in cut-price Model Y Standard form.
Polestar continues to grow as a serious rival to Tesla and will launch its flagship Polestar 5 this year – another model benefiting from the UK’s engineering expertise. Sister brand Volvo will follow up the impressive EX90 SUV and ES60 saloon with an electric version of its best-selling XC60, the EX60.
Finally, among the many plug-in hybrids launching this year is a familiar name returning to UK shores. The original Mitsubishi Outlander effectively kick-started the PHEV market back in 2014, before the brand exited the UK in 2021. Now Mitsubishi is back, with an all-new Outlander PHEV arriving this summer.
As far as new arrivals go, this really is just the tip of the iceberg. Plenty more new cars – and new brands, particularly from China – are expected, often with very little warning.
What we do know is that the government’s Electric Car Grant is likely to remain in place throughout the year, offering discounts of either £1,500 or £3,750 on eligible models and bringing costs down further. Talk of pence-per-mile road charging for EVs is unlikely to become reality for at least another two years, but who knows what other incentives or curveballs might appear – after all, few expected the grant scheme to return in 2025.
Of course, if you’re running any electrified car, I’d always recommend switching to a suitable low-rate electricity tariff for charging. If you don’t have off-street parking, it’s also worth subscribing to one or more public charging apps to help keep costs down.
One thing you can rely on is that I’ll be here to bring you the latest news, reviews and advice. So stay tuned to the DriveSmart weekly newsletter and the Independent Electric Vehicles channel throughout 2026 – and don’t forget to send in any questions you may have using the link later in this newsletter.
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