10 Mainstream Models That Will Probably Be Electric Before 2030 – TopSpeed

The automotive industry has always changed with new developments and trends. When automotive manufacturers hit the early stages of reshaping existing or new models, they focused on the characteristics of better fuel economy and reliability. Now, you can see sports cars and luxury vehicles becoming electrified to battle not only affordable vehicles but other areas within the automotive field. It seems like every month, a car manufacturer drops a press release announcing its new fully electric model. This has caused people to split their opinions about the takeover of electric models and whether it’s worth it or not.

While that topic won’t be discussed or answered, a more fun discussion that branches off from that is what mainstream models have yet to be electrified and what can be expected of them. If you were to search for models that aren’t hybrids or full electric, you’d run into an issue of finding them. Well, you wouldn’t be here if there weren’t, and a good handful of models have yet to see the spark. Here are 10 mainstream models that are expected to have a ‘change of heart’ before 2030.

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1 Ford Mustang

The Ford Mustang is one of the world’s most well-known American sports cars, and it has yet to be launched as an EV. Some of you may say, “Well, isn’t there the Mustang Mach-E?” Technically, yes, but that isn’t the Mustang we know, with its design that differs from the gasoline-powered car you’ve seen over the years. It’s safe to assume car enthusiasts would be more interested in a Mustang EV that shares the same body as the gasoline-powered pony.

2024 Ford Mustang GT Performance Specifications

It’s hard to say what one should expect when discussing vehicles that could potentially be converted into an electric vehicle. Of course, there could be plenty of speculation, but if you dive deep into the existing vehicles within an automotive manufacturer, you can pick up on trends. Now, the Mach E isn’t the Mustang people wanted, but you can take that as an example and guess what a Mustang EV would look like.

Given that Ford has had trims like the EcoBoost and GT for the Mustangs, it’s safe to assume the Mustang EV would have a wide range of trims that follow in those footsteps. The base trim would be centered around an electric range with limited standard features, and the GT would be a performance trim with faster acceleration and top speeds. One issue is whether Ford would keep the Mach-E within the Mustang family or rebrand the SUV into its own category.

2 Chevrolet Corvette

If you have been keeping up with news regarding Chevrolet, you would’ve seen the content over the year regarding the Corvette. Chevrolet and Corvette enthusiasts have been eating well this year with the ZR1 debut, the electrified E-Ray, and gossip regarding a Corvette SUV . With Chevy designing its iconic sports car in every way possible, you would think that the Corvette could house a powertrain that solely pulls from electricity.

2023 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray C8 1LT Performance Specifications

The Chevrolet Corvette is one of the few on the list that is expected to go fully electric. Chevrolet has announced that a fully electric Corvette is in the works and plans for the entire fleet to go electric within the next decade. So what can you expect with this screaming bald eagle? Well, Chevy could change the game of EVs by focusing on performance. There aren’t many EVs on the market that represent American and European sports cars with power and agility, so this could be Chevrolet’s chance to develop a Corvette that is fast in speed and agile around the track. With the previous news about the Corvettes, it’s safe to assume that Chevy has it handled with the upcoming Corvette EV.

3 Mercedes C-Class

Mercedes is another automotive company that has switched its focus in the past decade to hybrids and electric models. Like many others, Mercedes has introduced new models into its EV lineup. This means Mercedes has yet to take an existing model, such as the C-Class, and put a fully electric powertrain in it. This doesn’t help with people hoping for specific models to see some form of electricity, with Mercedes focusing on innovations rather than existing ones.

2024 Mercedes C300 Sedan Performance Specifications

Don’t run away just yet because all hope isn’t lost. Mercedes plans on going fully electric but has delayed it until 2030. If you take its more successful models, you would see the C-Class sits close to the top. The C-Class is still the leader of the core models, with an increase of 25-percent in sales compared to last year. As stated previously, there’s some speculation about judging if a vehicle will be electrified or not, but the C-Class looks to be safe. However, the automaker may have back-peddled on its EV plans for the time-being, so the C-Class electric could be a few years away.

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4 Porsche Cayenne EV

Porsche is one of the car manufacturers that has taken it slow when it comes to electric vehicles. This isn’t necessarily bad because they have designed some breathtaking EVs, such as the Taycan and the Macan. There’s good news because the long-lasting Porsche Cayenne is expected to switch to the dark side by 2026.

2024 Porsche Cayenne Performance Specifications

Porsche has kept the Cayenne EV under wraps, but pictures hit earlier this year of an electrified Cayenne doing some test laps, and if you know, you know. Well, if you don’t know, many automotive manufacturers will test prototypes on roadways or racetracks, which, for the majority of the time, means it is past the early development stage.

If you take the Macan, which was originally designed to resemble its bigger brother, you could guess that the Macan EV will be a slower SUV than the Cayenne EV. The Macan has four trims that most people may have heard of. The Macan Turbo has a 0-60 mph acceleration of 3.3 seconds. With the Cayenne being the bigger and better model, you can expect it to be just as fast and have trims seen in the Taycan.

5 Nissan Maxima

The fate of the Nissan Maxima is still a bit unknown, with the Japanese company planning to ax one of its most important cars, which has been in the lineup for over 43 years. You might be thinking, “That sounds like its fate has already been set,” but automotive companies have been known for discontinuing vehicles and bringing them back a few years later.

2023 Nissan Maxima SV Performance Specifications

The team at Nissan has been taking their time with developing electrified vehicles, and it’s a bit surprising. Compared to the other Japanese manufacturers, Nissan focuses more on pure internal combustion engines than electrified powertrains. The Nissan Leaf and Ariya show Nissan has the ability to build proper EVs, but now all that’s left is putting a sedan in its EV lineup. The Maxima might not even be a runner-up, with the Versa and Sentra having better sales, but the point is Nissan has four models to choose from, and the Maxima is a solid option.

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6 Volvo S90

Volvo has been doing well in terms of hybrids and electric vehicles. The Swedish manufacturer is known for its safety, reliability, and sleek design. The Volvo S90, with its luxurious features and design, reflects these characteristics.

2024 Volvo S90 T6 Performance Specifications

The Volvo S90 is a mild hybrid that uses a small battery and electric motor in order to improve fuel economy. While it also reduces emissions, the S90 still operates on conventional gas. Like many other companies, Volvo plans to lead a fully electric car brand by 2030.

The S90’s competition sits within its own family and will make competing hard for a spot on the electric fleet. It will have to fight with the S60 being the more popular sedan, as it is more affordable and efficient. The upcoming EX90 is supposedly set to replace the S90, but has yet to be confirmed. Volvo has four EVs available at the moment, but all of them are SUVs, which might open an opportunity for a future sedan to join the Volvo EV fleet.

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7 Chevrolet Camaro

Keeping up with automotive news can be time-consuming, and even news stated years ago that is still relevant can be hard to find. Like other automotive companies, General Motors (GM) made it clear that it is fully committed to pivoting towards electric vehicles back in 2021. This is still true, which leads to the fate of various models, such as the Chevrolet Camaro.​​​​​​​

2024 Chevrolet Camaro 1LT Performance Specifications

Chevrolet has been checking the boxes off of its list regarding the Corvette by electrifying it to some extent, but there’s one more sports car within its lineup that has been a bit neglected. General Motors owns Chevrolet and there’s a large possibility that the Camaro will see some form of electrification. Chevy has sold more Corvettes than Camaros in the last three years, so it looks like the Camaro will have to wait for the Corvette to receive a fully electric powertrain before it can.​​​​​​​

8 Jeep Wrangler

The Jeep Wrangler would be a unique electric vehicle that could pull in some off-roading capabilities. Hybrids and EVs in recent years have had designs centered around adventure seekers, such as the Toyota 4Runner and Land Cruiser, and the Wrangler would fit right in with existing platforms.​​​​​​​

2024 Jeep Wrangler Sport Performance Specifications

Jeep has its sights on another SUV to take the helm of off-road adventures, but that doesn’t mean the Wrangler will be left in the dust. The Jeep Recon EV is the upcoming off-roader, but little has been said about its build and design. One thing that is known is the Jeep Wrangler was used as inspiration when designing the Recon. This upcoming SUV might push the Wrangler back a few years before it receives a potential electric powertrain, but there’s still hope.

The Jeep Wrangler might not be the best-selling Jeep, but it is one of the most recognizable ones. There are quite a few EVs that can get dirty in some mud, such as the Hummer EV and Rivian R1T, but the Wrangler would be one of the first EVs to carry less weight, with it being notorious for being light. Only time will tell, but the Wrangler already has hybrid configurations, and the only thing left is to go fully electric.​​​​​​​

9 Porsche 911

The Porsche 911 is one of the cars on the list that would receive great enthusiasm or pure hate. Every automotive manufacturer has a group of enthusiasts, but Porsche is one of those whose members agree that it is one of the best companies to produce sports cars. The 911 also has a huge following, with many of these individuals being purists. It’s up in the air about whether the 911 EV will receive a good or bad reception.​​​​​​​

2025 Porsche 911 Turbo S Performance Specifications

So, what should you expect out of the Porsche 911 EV? That’s a tough question to answer, as it goes up against previous 911 generations. If one were to guess, the Porsche 911 would behave similarly to the Porsche Taycan, and that’s a huge win. The Taycan is the fastest dual-motor electric car in 2024, with the Taycan Turbo GT. You can expect the Porsche 911 to get close to the Taycan’s 2.2 second 0-60 mph sprint and 190 mph top speed.

Porsche 911s aren’t only fast but also have excellent handling and agility. Referencing back to the Taycan, The Turbo GT with the Weissach package set a new class record on the Nürburgring. The Turbo GT holds the record for the fastest four-door production sedan around the German racetrack. This isn’t about the Taycan, but the 911 has an extensive resume built on racing, and one can only imagine what it could do over the Taycan with an electric powertrain.​​​​​​​

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10 Mazda MX-5

The MX-5 Miata is one of the more affordable sports cars you can buy in America. When people think of cheap or inexpensive, they might think it wasn’t built well, or the company cut costs. That’s the opposite of the Mazda MX-5, which has a sporty front fascia and sleek interior. The great thing about smaller vehicles is there isn’t an absurd amount of space to design. This means engineers and designers can focus on one area, rather than several, in order to get an upscaled sports car.​​​​​​​

2024 Mazda MX-5 Sport Performance Specifications

The Mazda MX-5 is one of the cars on the list that would spice up the performance aspect of EVs. There aren’t many sporty compact EVs on the market, and the MX-5 looks like the perfect platform to give it a go. The Mini Electric and Fiat 500e are compact cars that are fully electric and carry on its lineage of sportiness. Still, a convertible coupe with a small battery doesn’t seem that unrealistic.

The MX-5’s lineage entails a great weekend car with small power and responsive steering. Each generation has carried over this characteristic and is a driver’s car. One possibility for the MX-5 EV is a more affordable option, with the gasoline-powered model starting at $28,985. Smaller batteries also help save costs, and it’s one car on the list that would bring diversity to the electric automotive industry.​​​​​​​