2024 Buick Electra EV: Everything We Know So Far – General Motors has lofty goals of surpassing Tesla in sales of electric vehicles by the year 2025; but, in order to achieve this goal, every brand under the GM umbrella will need to produce electric vehicles that are competitive in their own markets.
That includes Buick, which is one of the very few remaining GM brands that will transition to electric vehicles. The Electra, which is Buick’s first electric vehicle (EV), has the potential to put the brand on a far more promising path. Sales of Buick vehicles have been stagnant as of late, and the brand’s range is not particularly innovative.
At this moment, there are not many specifics available about the Electra, but judging by the Electra Concept, it will be a striking crossover vehicle that will be very different from the Electra full-size sedan that was manufactured until 1990.
It is interesting to note that the name Electra will be used to a series of future models as a kind of electric vehicle (EV) sub-brand; yet, given that buyers can’t seem to get enough of crossovers, we’d be astonished if the brand’s debut EV were anything other than a crossover.
New Buick Electra Exterior and Colors
Even though we haven’t seen the production version of the Buick Electra’s exterior yet, we have numerous designs that give us an indication of what to anticipate. In addition to the Electra Concept that was presented in the year 2020, Buick has just recently shown us the breathtaking Wildcat EV Concept, which the company claims is a preview of the brand’s future design language.
Additionally, the Electra-X Concept, which is pictured in white below, is a concept that was presented in China. If we were able to find an artificial intelligence program that could properly integrate these three ideas into one, then maybe we would have a better idea of what the final production Electra would look like.
These ideas all have clear contours and depend less on intricate particulars than they do on striking proportions in order to capture your attention. Both the Electra and Electra-X ideas have headlights that are very thin, wheels that are exceptionally huge, and a glasshouse that is not very deep.
The Electra Concept’s wild butterfly wing doors and complete lack of standard door handles are not likely to put it into reality. On the other hand, the Wildcat’s “forward-leaning” front end and low-mounted, trapezoidal grille might make it into production.
The Wildcat Concept’s blade-style taillights and turbine wheels are also appealing to us, but none of these design aspects, nor the color options that will be offered for the next Buick Electra crossover, have been officially announced. Whatever the case may be, it seems that the time of sleek but relatively unremarkable Buicks is drawing to a close.
Buick Electra Dimensions
Due to the fact that the new Buick Electra will most likely share its Ultium platform with the Cadillac Lyriq, its proportions will most likely be comparable to those of the Caddy if it is also a midsize SUV. As a point of comparison, the length of the Lyriq is 196.7 inches, while its height is 63.9 inches, and its breadth is 86.9 inches.
If the new Electra is anything like the Lyriq in this aspect, it will have a curb weight that is more than 5,600 pounds. Midsized electric vehicles are known for their weight.
Buick Electra Engine and Performance
Again, there is no hard evidence to suggest how the Buick Electra will be propelled, but based on the available information, we may make some educated guesses. When Buick unveiled the Electra Concept in 2020, the company said that it was equipped with two electric motors that were capable of generating 583 horsepower and that it could accelerate from 0 to 62 miles per hour in under 4.3 seconds.
This is much more powerful than the Lyriq, which has two motors and all-wheel drive and produces 500 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque.
It is possible that a powertrain with this degree of gusto might fulfill the job of an Electra GS, but a version with only one engine would be used to propel the standard Electra and would have a more straightforward rear-wheel-drive setup. With 340 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque, the rear-wheel-drive (RWD) basic model of the Lyriq is not lacking in power.
As with a good number of other electric vehicles produced by General Motors, the Electra is anticipated to be built on the adaptable Ultium platform. As we will see in the next section, this might result in an excellent driving range on a single charge.
Range, Charging, And Battery Life
When the Electra Concept was unveiled, Buick said that the sophisticated Ultium battery will have a range of more than 660 kilometers (410 miles) on a single charge according to the norms of the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP). The Lyriq’s EPA ratings aren’t nearly as impressive as those numbers indicate.
It achieves 97/82/89 MPGe and has a range of 312 miles when configured with RWD thanks to the 102 kWh battery it utilizes. GM’s Ultium battery cells, on the other hand, were developed to be constantly improved, which means that by the time the Electra is released, it may very well be able to outperform the Lyriq in terms of both efficiency and range.
If the Electra can match the Lyriq’s charging rates, it will be able to attain a peak charging rate of 190 kW and should be able to add around 76 miles of range in only ten minutes. However, the newer Electra might provide enhancements over the already existing Ultium-based electric vehicles, making some Korean EVs capable of faster charging rates than this one.
Buick Electra Interior And Cargo
Even while the interior execution of current Buicks isn’t quite as good as that of its German counterparts, the cars nonetheless offer very pleasant cabins. We anticipate that the interior design of the Buick Electra will represent a whole new direction for the company.
The Electra Concept displayed an interior that had four seats and was filled with innovative technology at every turn. It did not have a traditional instrument panel but instead featured a retractable steering wheel, suspended chairs, and a cradle that resembled the inside of a spacecraft.
The combination of these characteristics produced what Buick described to as a zero-gravity environment. This atmosphere gives the impression that the principal components of the inside of the Buick Electra are floating in the air.
We do not believe that the number of seats in the production Buick Electra will be restricted to four, nor do we anticipate that the steering wheel will be able to retract, given that Level 4 and Level 5 autonomous vehicles are still some time away.
On the other hand, the augmented reality head-up display and the eConnect technology that allows for remote over-the-air upgrades are more likely to become a reality. There is a possibility that the curved display may be shrunk, despite the fact that the more current Electra-X Concept included a large 30-inch panel that was capable of displaying 6K resolution.
The more typical A-pillars of the latter should be employed, although it is still probable that there will be a wide glass ceiling. Despite this, the Electra Concept’s flat floor, which creates more room in both the first and second rows, is one of our favorite features. Before we are able to publish the specifications of the Buick Electra’s cargo area, we will have to wait till further information is made public.
