For many years, a VW Golf was well motorized with 90 to 110 hp under the hood, a luxury class model from Peugeot, Alfa or Mercedes got by with 180 hp and even the increasingly coveted SUVs in the premium league remained with the particularly popular volume models below the 200 -PS brand. Increasing electrification is making segment boundaries disappear, body shapes are merging and engine performance is exploding. This does not only apply to the sports versions such as a Kia EV6 GT, which as a mid-range crossover with design standards scratches the 600 hp limit and is already on the road as a volume all-wheel drive vehicle for everyone with 239 kW / 325 hp and a 77 kWh battery.
Nio wants to conquer the premium league and put pressure on models from Audi, BMW or Mercedes. This not only works with pleasing shapes and large displays, but also with impressive performance data. The Nio ET5, an electric mid-range vehicle, leaves its customers with little choice. The Chinese crossover is only available with a 360 kW / 489 hp all-wheel drive. For comparison: the recently presented Mercedes E-Class with combustion engine, despite a total length of almost five meters, enters the 200 hp league with the E 200. The volume model of the electric Golf counterpart VW ID3 with its 150 kW / 204 hp offers the same as an electric car.
The European high-volume supplier with its cascade of different models is particularly under pressure. One reason why a model like the new VW ID Buzz was boosted from 150 kW / 204 hp to 210 kW / 286 hp with the introduction of the XL version, which is so important in the USA. A 250 kW / 340 hp all-wheel drive version will follow, which will also power the hopeful VW ID7 sedan. The pressure from the individual markets – especially outside of Europe – is increasing to offer significantly more performance in the individual models. BMW offers its iX3 – formerly only planned for China and also manufactured there – only with rear-wheel drive and still an output of 210 kW / 286 hp. The little brother BMW iX1 xDrive 30 with all-wheel drive even offers 230 kW / 313 hp as a basic version. For comparison: the entry-level X1 sDrive 18i with front-wheel drive is even available with a slim 100 kW / 136 hp.
The differences in the luxury models are even clearer – and here especially in those of new brands. Although the Lucid Air is just under five meters long, it competes with luxury models such as the Audi A8, BMW 7 Series / i7 or Mercedes S Class / EQS in terms of performance, pricing and interior dimensions. The extended volume model Lucid Air Touring is a 462 kW / 629 hp all-wheel drive vehicle that starts at 129,000 euros. The European competition can already keep up here – neither as a combustion engine nor as an electric version – the noble version Sapphire has more than 1,200 hp, while other versions have 480, 820, 930 or 1,111 hp. A Mercedes S-Class as the S 350d has just 230 kW / 313 hp – just like the BMW iX1 a few classes below. Audi offers its A8 as a petrol and diesel engine – with a power range from 286 / 340 hp. The top model of the Audi S8 with more than 570 hp, however, was deleted. BMW is trying to counter the performance explosion of the Tesla Model S Plaid or Lucid Air Sapphire with the 485 kW / 660 PS / 1,100 Nm i7 M70, while Mercedes is offering its S-Class as an AMG 63 series with 590 kW / 802 PS / 1,430 Nm . Even Porsche, with its top model, doesn’t have much to offer the Taycan Turbo S to the international electric competition. At least on paper.
The reason for the performance explosions in most vehicle classes is obvious, because a powerful electric motor does not cost much more than a rather weak one. That was usually different with a combustion engine. The big price difference in the manufacturing costs is more the battery technology, which has to be matched to the electric motors. In addition, in the long term, most high-performance vehicles will probably be equipped with all-wheel drive, which often almost doubles the engine output. The less powerful versions with mono axle drive are only intended for beginners and particularly inexpensive models.
It’s not as if the European manufacturers didn’t recognize the trend towards significantly more power in the entry-level models years ago. However, some platforms do not offer the opportunity for significantly more power and larger battery packs, which is why the numerous electric models from the Stellantis Group or from the Volkswagen Group cannot keep up with the impressive performance specifications of the Asian or American competitors. An Opel Astra Electric, for example, is currently only available with a 54 kWh battery pack and a 115 kW / 156 hp front-wheel drive, and the VW ID4 is also currently over at 220 kW / 299 hp. Even a slight increase in performance to 250 kW / 340 hp makes models like an ID4 / ID5 GTX hardly appear as real sports versions compared to competitors from Zeekr, BYD Kia or Hyundai.
But it is not always the platform alone, because a manufacturer who, like Tesla or Nio, does not offer any combustion models, has nothing to do with the legacy of the price and performance structure of these different models that the customer has learned. A mid-range sedan like a Tesla 3 can easily produce over 280 hp, while a combustion engine competitor tends to be under 200 hp. Manufacturers in the world of combustion engines are happy to pay a surcharge of a few tens of thousands of euros for the significantly more powerful sports versions. A doubling of the base price is not uncommon. The differences in the electric primus Tesla are particularly small. The 208 kW / 283 hp basic version of the Model 3 with rear-wheel drive, a small battery pack and a range of almost 500 kilometers costs just under 42,000 euros, while the top version Tesla Model 3 Performance and its 377 kW / 510 hp cost only 55,000 euros. For comparison: a 150 kW / 204 hp Mercedes C 200 starts at less than 50,000 euros, while the 500 kW / 680 hp top model easily costs twice as much at a stately 100,000 euros.
