These are the most important hybrids and EVs of the 2010s (2024)

Arguably the world’s first truly mass-market, mass-produced, purpose-built EV, the normal-looking Leaf arrived in 2010. In the last decade Nissan has shifted almost half-a-million of the things (last year it was the best-selling EV in Europe, and the best-selling car full-stop in Norway) saving, it says, around 3.8 million barrels of oil per year. You can read the review of the current, second-gen Nissan Leaf by clicking on these words.

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The Ampera (a re-badged Chevy Volt for Europe) was the first proper plug-in hybrid to go on sale in the UK. It was a deeply clever car, this, with a 148bhp electric motor, a 71bhp electric motor/generator, and an 85bhp 1.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engine all powering the front wheels via a hugely complex planetary gearbox. Sales were good to begin with, but tailed-off to such a degree that in 2014 GM decided not to bring updated cars to Europe.

Zoes account for around one in five EVs sold in Europe. A Fiesta-sized supermini conceived from the get-go as an EV, it’s always offered a decent amount of range given its diminutive size and price. The design hasn’t changed much in all the years it’s been on sale (that said, the ‘new’ one has a much improved interior), but Renault has been steadily uprating the battery and motor – range has more than doubled since 2013. Read the review of the Renault Zoe by clicking here.

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Tesla’s first proper car (i.e. one all of its own making, instead of an electrified Lotus Elise) arrived in 2012, which in EV years is a bloody long time ago. It’s the car that really established Tesla, that made its name, and caught the likes of Audi and Mercedes off-guard. It would be years before any of the more established carmakers released anything like it. Click here to read our Tesla Model S review.

Whoever would have thought Mitsubishi, of all companies, would one day make Britain’s most popular plug-in hybrid. How’d they do it? By PHEV’ing an SUV before anyone else, apparently because people love SUVs, and taking ruthless advantage of company car tax-breaks. Mitsubishi says half its owners’ average weekly mileage is covered under electric power. Read the review by clicking right here.

BMW’s first proper EV, and the first car from its ‘i’ sub-brand. When it was first launched, you could have the i3 as either a full-EV or a range-extender, with a small motorcycle engine in the boot for keeping the batteries charged. But now thanks to advances in battery tech giving more range (like the Zoe and Model S, BMW has updated the i3’s battery a number of times since launch), it’s EV-only. Carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) is used extensively in the innovative structure, adding cost but keeping weight low. Handles like a BMW too. Read the review right here.

When electrified, if not full-electric, hypercars became a thing. For its latest and greatest, Ferrari, Porsche and McLaren added batteries to their flagship hypercars, sparking a direct rivalry the likes of which we hadn’t seen before and haven’t since (but will soon, no doubt). Click here to read our mega group test of these three astonishing cars.

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Hydrogen still isn’t a thing, but not through lack of trying. In 2014 Toyota came out with the Mirai – a challenging-looking, but incredibly clever bit of kit. It only expected to sell 100 or so per year – not because of the car, but the infrastructure, which is limited at best (you can count the number of hydrogen filling stations in the UK on one hand), for £66,000 or so. Hyundai’s been at it too, with the bigger (and better, actually) Nexo. Read our reviews of the Mirai here and the Nexo here.

The long-awaited ‘affordable’ Tesla that makes the likes of the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class look a bit… last century, and the car hundreds of thousands of people gave deposits for having only seen pictures, let alone sat in or driven one. Only arrived in the UK in right-hand drive this year – we took one on the TG24 and gave it an award.

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Jag gazumps Audi and Merc, by releasing its purpose-built EV before its arch rivals. The first credible rival to Tesla, and a bold new bit of design for Jag, the I-Pace handles very well and real-world will do about 200 miles to a charge. It’s a signal mainstream car manufacturers are prepared to invest properly in building new-from-the-ground-up electric cars you actually want to own, and might be able to afford. Read the full review by clicking on these words.

The Renault Zoe has had things its own way for too long. 2020 will be the year of the supermini EV, with Honda, Mini, Peugeot and Vauxhall all due to release diminutive 200-mile-plus EVs costing around £25,000.

2020 will also see the arrival of the Polestar 2 – the first full-EV from Volvo’s new performance EV brand. We’ve already driven it, and you can see what we think by clicking here. Ford is getting in the game with the Mustang Mach-E, BMW will add to the slow-starting i range and VW will get cracking with the ID.3.

Trucks are going to be a thing. Tesla’s Cybertruck is… interesting. Meanwhile Ford is doing an all-electric version of the ever-popular F-150, and Rivian (in which Ford has invested half a billion dollars) will start production of its electric truck in the second half of 2020.

Hybrid hypercars are so last year. The 2020s will see all-electric hypercars like the Tesla Roadster, Lotus Evija, Rimac Concept Two and Pininfarina Battista (and, erm, Aspark Owl) land on the scene. And you thought 0-62mph times couldn’t get much faster…

The likes of Byton, Lucid, Faraday Future and many, many other EV start-ups are still threatening to bring cars to market. Some are much closer than others, but will any succeed? And will the start-ups that have sold some cars, like Nio, survive to see 2021?