Best electric cars of USA 2019

Best electric cars of USA

The USA is switching on to electric cars in 2019, slowly but surely: Аmericans bought nearly 60,000 plug-in cars last year and the next 24 months will see battery vehicles enter the mainstream as prices reduce to become more competitive with petrol and diesel cars. Drivers are increasingly looking to ditch fossil fuels, but which one should you buy and is an electric car right for you in the first place?

From the latest Jaguar i-Pace, Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model S to forthcoming electric SUV rivals the Audi E-tron and Mercedes-Benz EQ C launching this year, electric vehicles (EVs) are proving ever more popular. Sales of electrified cars in the USA rose 21% in 2018 and automotive researchers at Sophus3 concluded that electric cars are now the fourth most searched-for category online. In this handy guide, we talk you through CAR magazine’s pick of the best EVs that you can buy now in 2019, and in the near future.

Don't forget, the USA government has been offering up to $4500 off zero-emissions cars for the past few years via its Plug In Car Grant, making the higher purchase price and showroom costs much more palatable. Subsidies have put more than 167,000 plug-in EVs on the roads since January 2011 up to autumn 2018, but the incentives have now been curtailed - much to the industry's chagrin. Plug-in and hybrid cars no longer qualify for government grants, while the discount for pure EVs has dropped to $3500, and sometimes less. Expect the grants to dry up altogether in time, as electrification becomes the norm.

EVs might cost more than their petrol or diesel counterparts today, but that gap is narrowing. New research by Deloitte suggests that price parity with internal combustion cars is likely by 2021. 'In the USA, the cost of petrol and diesel vehicle ownership will converge with electric over the next five years. Supported by existing government subsidies and technology advances, this tipping point could be reached as early as 2021. From this point, cost will no longer be a barrier to purchase, and owning an EV will become a realistic, viable option for new buyers.'