Toyota unleashes tsunami of EV concepts, but which ones will we see first?

PLUS: GM teases Sierra EV, Polestar future EVs, electric Audi S1 Sport Quattro.

If you have trouble reading this message, view it in a browser.     Polestar details its plans for the future, Lexus shows off its upcoming electric crossover, and GMC gives a glimpse of an electric Sierra pickup. But first: Toyota's HUGE plan for EVs    This week Toyota took the wraps off not one but well over a dozen EV concepts at once, previewing its plans for battery-electric options in just about every segment by the year 2030.    Long labeled an EV skeptic, one that has spent precious time and money on hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles despite being a hybrid pioneer, Toyota is now racing to change its image when it comes to EVs, unveiling a surprisingly wide variety of concepts from a small roadster to an FJ-style Compact Cruiser to two small cubes on wheels, as well as what looks like an electric version of the Toyota Tacoma. Some are far more futuristic than others, including the Micro Box, and quite a few look just about production-ready, in addition to being huge sales hits in the making.    In all, the automaker plans to offer 30 battery-electric models across from Toyota and Lexus brands by the end of the decade, with Lexus having offered a closer look this week at its next electric model, headed stateside next year.    One concept seen during Toyota's event. Will Toyota actually build it exactly like this?    Toyota isn't giving up on hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, PHEVs, and hybrids, but the automaker is taking a measured approach in each global region. Its next EV—the Toyota bZ4X crossover—is set to go on sale stateside in a matter of months.     "We are living in a diversified world and in an era in which it is hard to predict the future. Therefore, it is difficult to make everyone happy with a one-size-fits-all option," Akio Toyoda said. "That is why Toyota wants to prepare as many options as possible for our customers around the world."     Which one of these concepts would you like to see first as an EV you can buy?   More Polestar models are on the way, just as the brand is opening more Spaces in the US.   Speaking of upcoming electric models, the Polestar 3 is headed here next year, with Volvo's EV-only sibling brand seeking to make a bigger name for itself amid a rapidly expanding cast of start-ups all vying for buyer attention—and financial market attention. Polestar launched its first electric model stateside with far less fanfare than some of its rivals, but this doesn't means its plans for the EV world are any less ambitious.     In fact, Polestar has much larger rivals in its sights, including a certain EV maker that has recently started calling Texas its new home, as well as a performance car maker based in Stuttgart.    Just what new models can we look forward to seeing in the coming years?    The past couple of weeks have given us glimpses of the Polestar 3 sport utility and the dramatic Polestar 5 performance four-door, the latter due here in 2024. The Polestar 3 SUV will enter production here in the US next year, expected to give the brand plenty of sales momentum just as several automakers begin offering electric crossovers.    "We are not a virtual company waiting to build factories and sell cars; we are an actual company already building and selling cars around the world," Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO, said earlier this year. "Our two award-winning cars are on the road in 14 markets globally and we expect our global sales volume to reach around 29,000 vehicles this year."    Read on to find out more about Polestar's plans for the near future.             2022 Mercedes EQS 450+ Is a Lesson in Our Brave New Electric Future    The Mercedes-Benz EQS has the shape of a medical jelly bean and, as such, it's good for you. And for the environment. Its 0.20 coefficient of drag slips through the atmosphere like a ghost. And it is so quiet that the noises you do hear are noises that would normally be drowned out by an engine: tire noise, road noise, and even a little wind noise (it's 0.20, not 0.0 like Bluto Blutarsky's GPA). READ THE FULL STORY    American Extreme E Star Sara Price Educated In EV Technology, Cost of Environmental Conscience    She owns her own auto-painting business that enabled her to buy her own home and first off-road truck.    She's an X Games medalist and stunt professional, performing on motorcycles and vehicles in precision-driving assignments for television and commercials. Her resume' even includes working in a video with Lady Gaga.    What's more, this never-before crusader from Riverside, Calif., is helping save Earth in an electric GMC Hummer.    She's Sara Price, half of the Chip Ganassi Racing Extreme E Series duo with Kyle LeDuc—the global endeavor's only all-American team. And she's is about to wrap up a life-changing racing season this weekend with the Jurassic X Prix near Dorset, England. READ THE FULL STORY What to Expect with the 2023 Lexus RZ450e READ MORE Volvo and Northvolt Will Build Battery R&D Hub READ MORE Ken Block's Audi S1 Hoonitron Updates a Legend READ MORE Stellantis' First Hydrogen Vans Enter Production READ MORE 2023 GMC Sierra EV Reveals Its Futuristic Front End READ MORE Elon Musk Named Time Magazine Person of the Year READ MORE       Spread the word: If you know someone interested in staying on top of the rapidly growing EV segment, feel free to pass this newsletter along. SIGN UP Follow Us Unsubscribe Privacy Notice Autoweek.com ©2021 Hearst Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hearst Email Privacy, 300 W 57th St., Fl. 19 (sta 1-1), New York, NY 10019