Ocean

Make
Fisker
Segment
SUV

It's impossible to overstate what a challenging task it is for a new company to enter the automotive industry. It's not just because every segment worth entering is chock full of options; it's because of the sheer amount of research and development it takes to build a functioning car. The major consumption of development time and money is sucked up by meeting safety and crash regulations, then emissions approvals. However, with the rise of electric power, one of those costly barriers to entry has been removed. Not only are plug-in electric cars zero-emissions vehicles, but the powertrain of an EV is a model of simplicity compared to an internal combustion engine and driveline.

There are a number of up-and-coming EV makers making all the right moves that we should be watching now. For now, we'll skip Polestar, Rivian, and Lucid Motors, as they already have established vehicles on the road.

Canoo

Canoo is based in Bentonville, AR, and first appeared in 2021. It was started as Evelozcity in 2017 and formed by Stefan Krause and Ulrich Kranz after leaving Faraday Future together. The company has had some big markers that included a deal with Hyundai to develop an EV platform together, and Apple courted Canoo to participate in developing its EV project. Unfortunately, Canoo broke off the deal with Hyundai, and Apple poached Canoo's former CEO, Ulrich Kranz. Despite the setbacks, Canoo is still pushing forward with its little truck, and Walmart has ordered 4,500 of its delivery vehicles. At the same time, the US Army asked Canoo for a vehicle to be analyzed for use in operational and garrison environments. On top of that, NASA selected Canoo to supply vehicles for its Artemis program.

If the business carries on as planned, Canoo's pickup truck will go on sale to the public in 2023, followed by a sedan.

Mullen Technologies

Mullen's CEO, David Michary, is not messing around. The business executive and passionate car enthusiast bought Mullen in 2014 and has assembled a team to build its first luxury sport SUV with purpose. The team most notably includes Andreas Thurner, most well-known for the exterior of the Rolls-Royce Ghost, and experienced engineer Marian Petrelecan who brought products from concept to production with BMW and Chrysler. Technically, Mullen isn't a new EV company, but it's in startup mode under Michary's guidance; its first vehicle is due to arrive in 2024. The Five is promised with a zero to 60 mph time of 3.2 seconds, a top speed of 155 mph with 325 miles of range, and a base price of $55,000.

VinFast

VinFast is a Vietnamese car brand headquartered in Singapore with plans to build EV plants in Germany and the United States. It's an aggressively ambitious company, but that ambition has been paying off. Its first models were designed with Pininfarina, BMW, and Magna Steyr. VinFast has made a huge deal with GM for exclusive rights to distribute Chevrolet vehicles in Vietnam and take ownership of the existing GM factory in Hanoi, Vietnam. Most recently, VinFast announced it would stop building petrol-powered cars by 2023, then used the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to unveil three new all-electric models. The VF 5, the VF 6, and VF 7 are all small crossovers of varying sizes. Now, at the top of the range is the VF 8 crossover promised to start at $41,000 in the US, while the VF 9 crossover will launch at $56,000. In VinFast's typically aggressive fashion, cars will come with a 10-year/124,000-mile warranty.

Indi EV

Indi EV is based in Los Angeles and is leaning into the computer side of electric vehicles. Interactivity and gaming, in particular. If you visit the company's website, you'll need to dig deep to find anything about its first vehicle past all the lifestyle or computer tech. Indi EV is obviously aiming at the tech crowd with a second screen on the passenger's side running Windows PC, capable of playing video games, and "a hub for capturing, editing and uploading content."

The Indi One specs out quite an average crossover with 230 miles of range, a six-second zero to 60 mph time, and 100 kW DC charging ability. The Premium model specs out better with 300 miles to range and slightly quick zero to 60 mph time.

It worries us, though, that Indi EV is leaning into what is, essentially, a gaming gimmick. It's not like we couldn't put PCs or game consoles in cars for years in the aftermarket. The concept may be a tough sell mainly because cars aren't sat in long enough or often enough for gaming sessions. Still, we hope IndieEV catches the zeitgeist when the car goes into production in 2023 and builds upon it. A rolling computer could be quite an interesting proposition as autonomous vehicle tech improves.

Fisker

Henrik Fisker is an automotive legend for designing luxury cars like the BMW Z8, Aston Martin DB9, and Aston Martin V8 Vantage. His run as an automotive company founder and CEO hasn't been smooth sailing, though. The latest incarnation of his aim to bring luxury EVs to the mass market starts with the Fisker Ocean. Currently, Fisker has several vehicles in the pipeline, with the Fisker Ocean crossover due to go into production in November of 2022. It's a much-anticipated vehicle, and to the point where the first model year production run has already sold out. That will be followed by the Fisker PEAR, EMotion, and Alaska. The PEAR is a smaller crossover, the EMotion is set to be a sports sedan, and the Alaska is a full-size pick-up truck.

Atlis Motor Vehicles

Atlis is one of those companies we're not sure whether it will actually get its product to market or not. Currently, it's looking to go public with an IPO despite not yet having a product on the market. What it does have is the promise of the XT pickup truck with 300-, 400-, or 500-mile battery packs and the most powerful model topping out at 600 hp with 12,000 lb-ft of torque. Its production target was early 2022, but it's understandable with the chip shortages that the vehicle has been delayed.

We're not sure about Atlas Motor Vehicles first offering because it's getting late to the party for a $45,000 pickup truck with Ford now in the electric game and Chevy coming in hot. However. Atlis was formed in 2016 and first showed the XT in 2019, so it's demonstrating real determination and still pulling in investors. If Atlis beats Tesla's truck to market, we would say it has a chance to build upon the XT.