The car brands you haven't heard of (but will soon)

Two Tesla-beaters, a Rolls-Royce wannabe and a Red Flag - there are plenty of bold new car brands out there you've probably never heard of.

The world is changing faster than most of us can keep up - and that’s why the next car you buy might be from a brand you may not have even heard of today.

Over the next slides we will detail 24 of the standout up-and-coming EV makers, producing everything from hypercars to family SUVs and sun-powered vehicles to three-wheelers.

Aiways

Founded in 2017, Aiways launched its first vehicle, a family crossover called the U5, in 2018 and put it on sale in 2019. You can now buy its cars in the USA, 14 European countries and China, and the most recent estimates valued the firm at $2 billion.

Aperta

Powering your car directly from solar panels attached to it might once have been a pipedream, but Aperta is looking to make it a reality. To date, it has built several of its 400-mile prototypes, but is struggling to raise the funds to take them to production.

Arcfox

A subsidiary of the giant (in China) BAIC Group, Arcfox was founded as a standalone EV brand in 2017. It scored a coup when it hired ex-Volkswagen Group designer Walter De Silva, launching a family SUV, the Alpha-S and sports car, the GT, shortly afterwards.

Bollinger

Founded in New York by entrepreneur Robert Bollinger back in 2017, the firm revealed plans for two all-electric SUVs. However, after taking deposits and showing working prototypes, it pivoted to make and sell commercial delivery vehicles.

BYD

BYD or Build Your Dreams might be a more familiar EV brand. In the last three months of 2023, the firm sold more models than Tesla, with 526,000 battery-electric vehicles rolling off the production line in the final quarter of the year. 

Much of BYD's growth lies in its battery production. The firm launched as a battery manufacturer in 1995 and has managed to save money by producing the batteries for its EV models in-house. BYD is set to bolster its position further after launching in the UK last year.

Canoo

Founded by an ex-BMW and ex-Deutsche Bank whose paths had crossed at rival EV maker Faraday Future, Canoo has stood out for its range of striking mini-vans and pick-ups. Customers include NASA, Walmart and Utah-based lease firm Kingbee.

Chery

One of the giants of Chinese automotive, Chery began making cars way back in 1999 and exporting them 2001. Today, it makes more than 1.2 million cars a year and is China’s best-selling brand overseas. It has also enjoyed a successful joint venture with Jaguar Land Rover, making its cars for sale in China.

Denza

Co-owned by Mercedes-Benz and BYD, Denza is a standalone brand focused on making luxury EVs. However, since its inception the 50:50 joint venture has shifted, with the German premium marque reducing its holding to 10% off the back of muted sales.

Faraday Future

Founded in 2014, Faraday Future was at the vanguard of EV start ups - and attracted a lot of attention for being founded by a Chinese businessman but headquartered in Los Angeles. Financial troubles have hindered progress though, and while production cars are now rolling off the line, to date it is best known for a string of stunning but stillborn concepts.

Hongqi

In Chinese Honqi means ‘Red Flag’ - an ironic nod to communism given that it is a luxury car brand whose vehicle designs offer more than a slight nod to the bastion of old-world luxury, Rolls-Royce, not least through its adoption of familiar vertical bars on its grille pattern.

Karma Automotive

Born from the assets of Fisker Automotive (the first time round), Karma is a Chinese owned, American based car maker that produces electric cars including the Revero and GSe. Like many start-ups it’s had its financial difficulties, but it recently raised further funds to accelerate its new model plans.

Lifan

Unfortunately, Lifan is perhaps best known for starting a motorbike brand called Hongda - and then having to change its name when a well-known Japanese motorbike maker took legal action. Well, that, or creating a car that looked a lot like a Mini. These days, however, it is a leader in selling electric cars that are compatible with a battery swap system (rather than having to be plugged in and recharged).

Lucid Motors

Headquartered in California, Lucid delivered its first Air models - called the Dream edition - in 2021. It’s well funded - backing comes from the Saudi Public Investment Fund - and if it can ramp up production its technology is touted as being Tesla-rivalling.

Mahinda Automotive

Need an electric three-wheeler in your life? Mahindra Electric - formerly known as Reva - has the answers, as this Indian micro-mobility firm takes an alternative approach to solving the world’s mobility issues via its Treo range. Other vehicles include the eVerito and eSupro.

Nio

Shanghai based, but with sales internationally, Nio is well known among car enthusiasts for its EP9 electric hypercar, a version of which shattered early EV lap records at the Nurburgring, although it has now been eclipsed.

It now sells a diverse range of impressive SUVs and saloons - including the EC6, ET5 Touring, ET7 and ES8 SUV, which feature novel battery swapping technology. Yes, you can go to a station and automatically have your empty battery swapped for a full one in around five minutes.

The Chinese brand has broadened its horizons in recent years by expanding its operations in Europe.

Omoda

Omoda forms part of Chinese car giant Chery which sells millions of cars in Asia each year, and is set to expand its operations into Europe and the UK with the launch of the 280-mile Omoda 5 SUV. Much like Great Wall has done with Ora, Chery will launch Omoda as a new brand, stating that it will focus on technology, sustainability and style.

Ora

Another car company you might never have heard of that sells more than a million cars a year. Great Wall is a top ten manufacturer by volume in China, and exports around the world with various brands.

Its first big push into Europe came with the Ora brand, whose electric line-up is perhaps best-known for the Ora 03, or Funky Cat - a family hatchback.

Rimac

Croatia doesn’t have a history of world-leading automotive technology - but all that is changing as the company run by Mate Rimac takes an increasingly central role in the industry. Its first car - Concept One - set speed records and established its credentials; today the firm consults for many major car makers, and has a share in Bugatti.

The brand is slowly establishing itself as a key player in the EV space following the launch of its radical Nevera hyper EV. The brand's second electric sports car set more than 22 world performance records last year, including the fastest time from 0mph to 249mph to 0mph.

Vinfast

No less than soccer star David Beckham has been known to grace a Vinfast stand at a motor show, underlining the Vietnamese firm’s ambitions. To date, its cars aren’t quite as iconic, although the VF31, VF32, VF33 have been registered for sale in the US and Canada.

WM Motor

Created in China in 2017 as Welmeister, this Germanic-sounding EV maker is now part of WM Motor, a large car maker in the country. It has global sales ambitions for its good-looking production cars, including the E5, EX5, EX5 Pro and W6.

Wuling

Just as the world’s best-selling EV maker is expected to be BYD by the end of this year (taking over from Tesla) so the world’s best-selling EV model isn’t a Tesla anymore; in fact, it’s the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV. Yes, it’s a curious car to lead the world with, its boxy shape and moderate performance hardly standing out, but its £3000 price tag has earned it an army of fans eager for some back-to-basics mobility.

Xpeng

A curious mix of car and technology company, XPeng notably holds a licence to test self-driving cars in the USA (almost as famously, this was also briefly revoked). Its strikingly styled cars include the G9 and G3i SUVs and the P7 and P5 saloons.

Zeekr

Founded in March 2021, and already notching up tens of thousands of sales around the world, Zeekr is an all-electric brand owned by Geely, which also controls the likes of Lotus, Polestar and Volvo. The 001 is a shooting brake model, the 009 a luxury MPV and the X a compact SUV.

Deus

The Austrian start-up isn’t holding back with its first electric sports car, the Vayanne. Set to launch in 2025, the firm’s striking EV develops a mind-boggling 2243bhp and 1475lb ft of torque.

Such incredible performance means the Vayanne can sprint from 0-62mph in a mere 1.99sec. Keep an eye out for the Austrian brand in the future. 

Rivian

Rivian has been a bit of an underdog in the electric start-up space. It was one of the first brand’s to launch an all-electric pick-up truck, beating the likes of Ford and Tesla. 

Earlier this year the firm revealed a trio of new electric models which are set to lead the brand’s entry into Europe. And that’s not all: Rivian just received a huge $5 billion investment from Volkswagen Group.

The joint venture will give VW access to Rivian’s software and electric architecture.

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