Happy New Year, happy new wheels.
Automakers ring in 2023 with an array of fresh sleds from pickups to SUVs to electric vehicles. New offerings will come from startups and legacy automakers alike — including established brands looking to remake themselves with premium electric badges.
EVs have found the premium market the most fertile soil for growth as battery costs are high and heading higher. Ford’s base F-150 Lightning Pro, for example, started 2022 with a sticker price of $42,000 then ballooned to $59,000, a 40% price hike. Mainstream badges like Kia (the EV6 GT) and Chevy (Blazer SS) are going luxe with $60,000 EVs. The flood of new electrics is key to automaker plans to meet stringent government emissions rules so they don’t get tripped up with big fines like, say, Stellantis suffered in ‘22.
Automakers are hardly neglecting their bread-and-butter internal combustion engine-powered vehicles. They pay the bills for big EV investments and are aimed at the 80% of the market that is non-luxury. Familiar ICE badges coming in 2023 include hot-sellers like the Chevy Colorado, Ford Super Duty pickup, GMC Canyon, Honda Accord, and Ford Mustang.
Here are the new vehicles we expect from automakers in the next 12 months.
Acura
The ZDX, Acura’s first EV, will be built alongside the Cadillac Lyriq EV in Tennessee on GM’s Ultium battery platform. It joins a sporty brand that said goodbye to the Acura NSX supercar in 2022 and hello to the entry-level Integra hot hatch.
Alfa Romeo
Alfa’s entry-level Tonale SUV takes on segment peers BMW X1 and Mercedes GLA with sexy styling, standard AWD, and a plugin drivetrain. The plug-in model boasts best-in-class, hybrid, 272-horsepower turbo-4 engine.
Audi
Audi’s vast lineup of sedans, SUVs, and e-trons will gain assorted upgrades for 2023. In a nod to Audi’s expanding EV lineup, the singular e-tron SUV will become the range-topping Q8 e-tron and Q8 e-tron Sportback — two body-style variants with the same AWD electric drivetrain underneath.
BMW
BMW’s most talented athlete, the redesigned M2 coupe squeezes another 48 horsepower from its high-revving, turbocharged, 3.0-liter, inline-6-cylinder engine. At the top of the Bimmer range, an all-new 7-series will debut an electric variant.
Cadillac
The brand reinvents itself with the $300,000-plus Celestiq halo sedan. Each model will be custom-built by craftsmen similar to bespoke Rolls-Royce production. Jaw-dropping inside and out, Celestiq dazzles with colored leather and 55-inch digital dashboard.
Chevrolet
It’s Chevy’s Year of the EV. The Silverado EV will (finally) launch in the first half of ‘23 with a Work Truck version. The retail RST (starting at a nosebleed $105,000) follows in the second half. Battery-powered Blazer and Equinox SUVs are also on tap — crucial steps in GM’s march to an all-electric future. On the internal combustion side, Chevy is offering a lower-priced Trax starting at just over $21,000 and a new, mid-size Colorado pickup.
Dodge
The 710-horsepower Durango SRT Hellcat (a family SUV!) is back!— but Dodge closes down the V-8-powered muscle-car era with the high-horsepower, special-edition Challenger Black Ghost and Charger King Daytona models. Fresh meat comes in the form of a compact, $30K-something Hornet SUV based on the same nimble platform as the Alfa Tonale. Hornet comes standard with AWD and options a plug-in, R/T-badged hellion with 285 ponies.
Fisker
An original Tesla competitor with its luxurious, 2012 Karma hybrid, Fisker has been reborn with the all-electric, 2023 Ocean. The compact ute is distinguished by a 17-inch screen that can rotate to landscape or vertical positions.
Ferrari
Ferrari’s Purosange, will drop jaws — and not just because it’s the Prancing Horse’s first SUV. You’ll hear it coming with a singing, 6.5-liter, 712-pony V-12 — the brand’s most powerful, naturally-aspirated engine. Purosange (English translation: thoroughbred) will boast unique attributes like scissor doors, dual cockpit screens, and electric motors at all four corners to control body roll — eliminating traditional sway-bars.
Ford
Iconic badges take center stage in ‘23. The ginormous F-series Super Duty gets a makeover with new exterior, interior, and powertrain options. Highlights include a 12-inch console screen and 1,200-pound-feet of diesel torque. Mustang is back with a new face, big screens, and more muscle. In addition to standard Ecoboost and GT models, ‘Stang will birth a track-focused Dark Horse badge with a 500-horsepower V-8 and optional rear wing. The GT supercar ends its six-year run with a track-only, 800-horsepower, $1.7 million, winged cyborg called the Mk IV.
Genesis
Hyundai’s luxe brand gets its third EV, the Electrified GV70 SUV. Nestled between the GV60 SUV and Electrified G80 sedan, the newbie converts the gas-powered GV70 chassis to electric with twin motors and a 77.5 kWh battery pack.
GMC
The Hummer EV SUV is in the house, as is the upgraded, mid-size Canyon pickup. The latter gets a butch AT4X trim with performance shocks and 33-inch tires to compete against segment dirt-kickers like the Toyota Tacoma TRD.
Honda
Honda’s relentless new product rollout continues with the mid-size Accord sedan and Pilot SUV following the 2022 Civic and 2023 CR-V and 2023 HR-V. The 11th generation Accord sports an elegant wardrobe and hybrid, 204-horsepower powertrain for its upper trims. The Pilot is boxier, more aggressive — which suits the macho, AWD Trailsport model and its all-terrain tires.
Hyundai
Hyundai adds two more EVs to its broad lineup. The kissing cousin of the angular Ioniq 5 EV, the Ioniq 6 gets a longer, more aerodynamic shape that should deliver better battery range. The Ioniq 7 goes big as a three-row EV option alongside the gas Palisade.
Kia
Hyundai’s sister brand also gets three-row, electric SUV: the EV9. The handsome, three-row, gas-powered Telluride has helped remake Kia as a premium brand and the $50,000-plus EV6 and EV9 SUVs want to solidify that image.
Lincoln
Ford’s luxury brand will release a refreshed Corsair in ‘23. The SUV will debut with available ActiveGlide 1.2 — Lincoln's hands-free, driver-assistance system.
Lotus
Lotus follows other sportscar makers like Porsche and Lamborghini into the performance SUV space with the China-assembled, 600-horsepower Eletre “hyper-SUV.”
Lucid
The lovely Air sedan set new standards of EV envy, and Gravity hopes to do the same for the SUV market.
Mazda
The Zoom-Zoom brand isn’t giving up on its MX-5 Miata sportscar, but Americans want SUVs. So here come the mid-size CX-70 and three-row CX-90 built on the brand’s all-new, longitudinal-engine, rear-wheel-drive-based architecture. X-pect the CX siblings to offer hybrid powertrains.
Mercedes
EQE and EQS sedans debuted Merc’s sleek new EV lineup, and now come the utes. The EQE/EQS SUVs bring hatchback utility (and third-row seating in the case of the EQS ute), while sharing tech-tastic interiors with their sedan cousins. The gas-fired GLC follows its sedan stablemate with a new, 2023 design.
Polestar/Volvo
The Polestar 3 is the first SUV from Volvo’s EV brand. Like the Polestar 2 sedan before it, the 3 runs on a Google operating system. It may debut Volvo's lidar technology — aimed at beating Tesla to full-self-drive capability. Not to be outdone, Volvo’s new flagship is an electric, three-row EX90 to be sold alongside the gas-powered XC90.
Subaru
For its sixth generation, the entry-level Impreza comes in hatchback only. Impreza comes stuffed with the brand’s latest, big-screen infotainment and 182 horsepower for its new RS sport trim.
Toyota/Lexus
The popular Highlander SUV gets a stretched, three-row, Grand Highlander stablemate. Look for its debut at the Chicago Auto Show powered by a hybrid, AWD powertrain. Ugly duckling-turned-swan Prius hybrid extends to a plug-in model promising over 35 miles in electric-only mode. The long-awaited, hush-hush Tacoma pickup could steal the show as recently published spy shots have sent the faithful in a frenzy. The battery-powered Lexus RZ SUV is aimed at loyal, hybrid customers eager to try all-electric. Lexus’ first EV shares the same platform as the Toyota bZ4X.
VinFast
The first Vietnamese manufacturer to sell here, VinFast aims to make a splash with the compact VF6 and mid-size VF7 SUVs. Both SUVs feature elegant, European (think Citroen) exterior styling while going full-Tesla inside with single-screen layouts.
Volkswagen
V-dub’s ID.4 EV begins stateside production in Tennessee with its 208-mile-range, sub-$40K Standard model. Location, location, location — the ID.4 is now eligible for the $7,500 US EV tax credit.
