Mustang, Corvette, and Other Iconic Cars That Have Gone Electric
The drumbeat of electric vehicle announcements marches on as automakers increasingly plot an all-electric future. Among those announcements has been a smattering of nameplates with long histories — including muscle cars and off-road innovators making the jump to electric. MotorTrend says the Chevy Camaro might be the next car joining the list as an all-electric model in 2024. Here’s a list of historic vehicles on the EV market and announced as on the way, with comparisons (where available) to their internal combustion engine relatives. Unless otherwise noted, vehicles are fully electric and comparison stats are from Fueleconomy.gov using 2022 models.
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Related: Every Electric Truck and SUV on the Market — and More Expected Soon
Debut: 2019
Annual Fuel Costs: $2,650 vs. original $2,950 to $4,500 (depending on model)
EPA Fuel Economy: 42 MPGe vs. original 15-23 mpg
Range: 480 miles (19-mile electric range) vs. original 389-580 miles
Greenhouse Rating: 7 vs. original 2-5
The Range Rover was introduced in the 1970 model year as a two-door vehicle for off-road adventurers. After a long evolution, a plug-in hybrid version joined the 2019 lineup, giving owners about 20 miles of all-electric driving per charge while providing a gas engine for longer excursions. Car and Driver says a full EV model is in the works for 2024.
Related: What to Know Before Buying an Electric Car
Debut: 2021
Annual Fuel Costs: $650 to $800 vs. original $2,200 to $4,800 (depending on model)
EPA Fuel Economy: 82-103 MPGe vs. original 14-25 mpg
Range: 224-314 miles vs. original 224-398 miles
Greenhouse Rating: 10 vs. original 2-5
The Mustang has a rich history stretching back to the original 1960s models that captured the hearts of drivers and made Lee Iacocca an industry star. When Ford changed lanes and introduced an all-electric option in 2021 some longtime pony fans were not impressed, but the vehicle found converts quickly. Green Cars now lists it as the No. 4 bestselling EV. Technically, the Mach E was reimagined as a small SUV, but Autoweek says remaining internal-combustion models may be replaced with EVs in 2028.
Related: Electric Cars Cheaper Than a Tesla
Debut: 2021
Annual Fuel Costs: $2,050 vs. original $2,400 to $4,800 (depending on model)
EPA Fuel Economy: 49 MPGe vs. original 14-25 mpg
Range: 370 miles (22-mile electric range) vs. original 301-473 miles
Greenhouse Rating: 8 vs. original 2-5
Kelly Blue Book says the “four by e” — a plug-in hybrid version of the off-roader — “can get down and dirty or as rough and rocky as the rest of its stablemates.” Part of the fourth generation of Wranglers, the 4xe “is the only mainstream plug-in hybrid SUV with any appreciable off-road ability.” Car and Driver says an all-electric Wrangler is expected in the 2024 model year.
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Debut: 2020
Annual Fuel Costs: $600 vs. original $2,100 to $2,600 (depending on model)
EPA Fuel Economy: 110 MPGe vs. original 26-32 mpg
Range: 114 miles vs. original 302-371 miles
Greenhouse Rating: 10 vs. original 5-7
With its origins in post-World War II England and a rich racing history, the British car automotive journalists dubbed the “European Car of the Century” experimented with an electric vehicle in 2008 before putting the SE into production for the 2020 model year. While it doesn’t have much range, its annual fuel cost of $600 is the lowest on the list.
Debut: 2022
Annual Fuel Costs: $950 to $1,000 vs. original $2,200 to $3,650 (depending on model)
EPA Fuel Economy: 66-70 MPGe vs. original 15-25 mpg
Range: 230-300 miles vs. original 390-506 miles
Greenhouse Rating: 10 vs. original 2-5
Car and Driver calls the all-electric version of Ford’s top-selling F-150 full-size pickup “its most ambitious innovation since the Model T.” Kelly Blue Book says it “has enough muscle to operate as a work truck, yet it can be a civilized cruiser as well” with a towing capacity of 10,000 pounds and a payload capacity of 2,000 pounds. With 6,800 sold between its debut in April and the end of August, electrek.com says the vehicle sells “as fast they can make them.”
Debut: 2022
Annual Fuel Costs: $1,700 (plug-in hybrid) vs. original $2,500 to $3,700 (depending on model)
EPA Fuel Economy: 56 MPGe vs. original 17-22 mpg
Range: 470 miles (26-mile electric range) vs. original 506-517 miles
Greenhouse Rating: 9 vs. original 3-5
Jeep calls the Grand Cherokee the “most-awarded SUV ever”; the plug-in hybrid 4xe version arrived to mark the vehicle’s 30th anniversary. Car and Driver cited the new model’s combined 375 horsepower between gas and electric motors, but wasn’t overly impressed otherwise: “The most likely application for the 4xe’s battery-powered driving capability would be to quietly motor to the bathrooms at the other end of a campsite or make for a silent escape from the parents’ house on a school night.”
Expected: 2023
Annual Fuel Costs: N/A vs. original $2,850 to $4,850 (depending on model)
EPA Fuel Economy: N/A vs. original 14-26 mpg
Range: Up to 400 miles (estimated) vs. original 336-624 miles
Greenhouse Rating: N/A vs. original 2-5
Chevrolet has been building trucks for 100 years and expects to join the growing field of EV pickups in 2023 with an electrified version of its Silverado — a model that started in 1975 as a trim option and became a stand-alone hauler in 1999. Expect a range of up to 400 miles, up to 664 horsepower, and up to 10,000 pounds of towing capacity, says Car and Driver, with a cost between $40,000 for a base model and $105,000 for the fully loaded RST version.
Expected: 2023
Range: 300-plus miles (estimated)
After the street version of the former military hauler was discontinued in 2010, Car and Driver says the Hummer is returning as an all-electric GMC sub-brand. Deliveries of a pickup truck version began in 2021, with an SUV more closely resembling the original due in 2023. GMC recently stopped taking reservations for the vehicles after booking 90,000, says InsideEVs.com.
Expected: 2024
Annual Fuel Costs: NA vs. original $2,200 to $2,600 (depending on model)
EPA Fuel Economy: NA vs. original 21-25 mpg
Range: 247-320 miles (estimated) vs. original 427-521 miles
Greenhouse Rating: NA vs. original 4-5
Chevrolet introduced the Blazer in 1969 as an answer to Ford’s Bronco, Jeep’s Cherokee, and International Harvester’s Scout, says Cnet. It was discontinued after the 2005 model year — then revived as a crossover in 2019. The model will offer an electric version in 2024 including a sporty SS trim that “offers 557 horsepower and is said to be capable of hitting 60 mph in less than four seconds,” says Car and Driver.
Expected: 2024
The original gull-winged sports car immortalized in the “Back to the Future” films was the stuff of legend — right up until the company crashed and burned. Texas-based DeLorean Motors Reimagined hopes to build on residual mojo with an offering in the 2024 model year. It takes design cues from the stainless-steel car of the early 1980s, but uses an all-electric power plant (no, not a flux capacitor). A concept version was unveiled in August with ordering beginning at the end of September, Newsweek says.
Expected: 2024
Annual Fuel Costs: NA vs. original $2,850 to $5,650 (depending on model)
EPA Fuel Economy: NA vs. original 12-26 mpg
Range: 500 miles (estimated) vs. original 391-676
Greenhouse Rating: NA vs. original 1-5
The 1500’s lineage traces back to the first Dodge Ram pickup in 1981, in what Cars.com calls “highly restyled versions of a different truck Dodge introduced in 1972.” The Ram spinoff brand continues to build trucks and hopes its planned EV version will help the company keep pace with the likes of Ford and Rivian. “While the electrified Ram 1500 will come out a couple of years after the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning, and presumably after the 2023 Chevy Silverado EV, it could potentially capitalize on any missteps those competitors make,” Car and Driver says.
Expected: 2024
“Volkswagen has been teasing a return of the classic, iconic, drive-it-to-the-Greatful-Dead bus for more than two decades,” says The New Yorker magazine of a van seen as 1960s counterculture touchstone long before U.S. sales ended and VW retired the model. The EV remake has been generating interest as well as test miles. “The CEO of Volkswagen of America said that the demand for the Buzz in the U.S. is unlike anything he’s seen.”
Expected: 2025
Annual Fuel Costs: NA vs. original $2,050 to $2,900 (depending on model)
EPA Fuel Economy: NA vs. original 19-27 mpg
Range: NA vs. original 358-486 miles
Greenhouse Rating: NA vs. original 3-6
In the Explorer’s fourth decade of production, Ford intends to take the venerable SUV electric, but when that happens is the question. Ford Authority says the launch was slated for the 2024 model year, but that’s changed due to production considerations. It quotes Automotive News now as expecting a 2025 launch for the EV version. Stay tuned.
Expected: 2025
Annual Fuel Costs: NA vs. original $3,550
EPA Fuel Economy: NA vs. original 19 mpg
Range: NA vs. original 352 miles
Greenhouse Rating: NA vs. original 4
Aside from Chevrolet confirming that an all-electric version of the iconic sports car is on the way — and a hybrid is due in 2023 — not much is known about this model, says Car and Driver. But the publication speculates it could use the name “E-Ray,” harkening back to the Stingray moniker, and may boast “a powerful three- or four-motor powertrain with around 1,000 horsepower and standard all-wheel drive.”
Expected: 2025
Annual Fuel Costs: NA vs. original $2,400 to $4,500 (depending on model)
EPA Fuel Economy: NA vs. original 15-23 mpg
Range: NA vs. original 278-426 miles
Greenhouse Rating: NA vs. original 2-5
One of a handful of storied 1960s muscle cars, the Charger debuted in 1966, morphed into a luxury-oriented coupe in the ’70s, and was out of production by the end of the ’80s, says Motor Trend. It reimerged in 2006 with the more recent Hellcat trims revisiting the muscle years. “Though Dodge hasn’t yet shared any performance or powertrain details for the concept, it claims the Daytona SRT will be faster than its Hellcat V-8-powered cousins ‘in all key performance measures,’” Car and Driver says.
Expected: 2026
Another blast from the past: the reincarnation of the venerable Scout off-roader made popular by International Harvester in the ’60s and ’70s. Volkswagen acquired the nameplate “when its Traton truck division took control of Navistar International, the descendant of International Harvester, in 2020,” says Car and Driver. SUV and pickup versions exist on paper, with prototypes due in 2023 and production to follow in 2026, the publication says.
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