New Year and lots of new cars for 2025

The move to battery electric cars continues in terms of what’s on offer. Across almost all of the brands on the Irish market, including some new ones for 2025, the move to electric car driving is rapid, meaning that petrol or diesel engine cars are becoming less available and will fall further.

The new brands to appear include the XPENG range from China, imported by one of Ireland’s longest established car importers, Motor Distributors. First to arrive, in January, will be the XPENG G6, an all-electric mid-sized SUV and this will be the first model to launch on the Irish market from the XPENG range.

American Rivian brand is expected to make an appearance with its all-electric range, including a pick-up truck. The new IM brand, a spin-off from the now Chinese MG brand will also be appearing at a dealership near you during 2025.

Among the more established car brands, there will be a host of new cars due in 2025. Among the ones to watch out for will be the Dacia Bigster, a larger SUV than the upgraded Duster, which also gets a fresh look for 2025.

Affordable

Dacia’s 2025 Duster model will be available with a 4-cylinder, 1.6-litre, 94 hp petrol engine, two electric motors (a 49-hp powerplant and a high-voltage starter generator), and an electric automatic gearbox (with four engine ratios and two motor ratios). The days of Dacia Duster diesel are now gone.

Dacia will offer the new Spring car with a claim of being Ireland’s most affordable fully electric vehicle. Starting at €16,990, after the SEAI grant, the new Dacia Spring is first and foremost a light and compact car, weighing in at just 975kg. The Spring has a maximum range of up to 225km (WLTP) from a 26.8kWh battery pack.

Maxus, the van brand imported by Harris Distributors, will offer a new Maxus eTerron 9 4x4 pick-up to the market with claims of 3.5 tonne towing ability and range that can extend over 300km. That will be a new option for agricultural users.

Ford will return the Capri model name in 2025 with an all-electric version that claims a range of 627km on a full charge. Entry prices are expected from €45,708 for the car that’s built on a Volkswagen platform. Ford has also electrified the small Puma SUV. Called the Puma Gen-E is powered by a 43kWh lithium-ion battery with a quoted range of up to 376km and efficiency of 13.1kWh/100km. Prices will start from €32,916.

Opel will have a new Frontera model on the market with the option of all-electric or hybrid power using a 1.2 litre turbo-petrol engine. The Frontera will be available with five or seven seats.

The battery-electric Frontera Electric with 83 kW (113 hp), 44 kWh (usable) battery has a range of up to 305 kilometres (according to WLTP2). The ‘long-range’ version, the new Frontera Electric will be able to travel up to around 400 kilometres (preliminary range according to WLTP2) without stopping to charge.

Opel will offer an all-electric version of the Opel Grandland in 2025. Opel claims that the car with its 97kWh battery can deliver a range of up to 700km. Available in the level two Elegance trim and level three GS trim from launch, the Grandland Electric model will retail in Ireland from €40,936 and €43,763 respectively, inclusive of grants. The announcement positions both Electric trims significantly below the retail price of their Grandland Hybrid equivalents.

The fast-growing BYD brand will include the BYD SEALION 7 high-performance, all-electric, mid-size SUV early in the new year. Later in the year, BYD will add two all-electric models from BYD’s sub-compact product range, the five-door hatchback BYD Dolphin Mini and crossover SUV BYD Atto 2.

Peugeot will be offering the 5008 model in 2025. All models include the i-Connect system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, along with a sliding and tilting second row for easy third-row access. Available in Allure and GT trims, the 5008 comes standard with seven seats.

Peugeot claims that the electric version can charge from 20%-80% in 30 minutes via DC fast charging, while the hybrid option improves fuel efficiency with a dual-clutch six-speed gearbox.

Citroen’s new C3 will be available with multiple powertrains of electric, petrol and hybrid. The all-electric BEV version comes with a starting price of €23,400, uses a 44kWh battery pack to deliver up to 320km WLTP driving range. New C3 will also be available with a 1.2-litre turbo petrol engine with a power of 100hp from €23,400, paired with a 6-speed manual gearbox which has been completely redesigned for performance and reliability.

Enthusiasts

Mercedes-Benz is offering a new people carrier based on the Citan van, called the new Mercedes-Benz T-Class. This is a five-seat passenger carrier, with a seven-seat option, which offers stacks of loading space for leisure and sports enthusiasts. Side sliding doors, on left and right sides, provide quick and easy passenger entry and exit, as well as flexible loading options.

The T-Class come with the Mercedes-Benz’s MBUX infotainment system, driver guidance and assistance features, data provision and connectivity. Prices begin at €42,530, including taxes, for the T 160 d Style model with a four-cylinder, 1461cc diesel engine.

There will be many looking to see the arrival of the new Toyota Land Cruiser for 2025. The commercial version starts at €69,990, arriving in early 2025, while the passenger version, starting at €140,830, will arrive later. The new model features a 2.8L diesel engine, paired with a redesigned turbocharger, and a new eight-speed automatic transmission.

It also adds electric power steering, replacing the former hydraulic system, providing better handling off-road, and enabling lane assist to be introduced as part of Toyota’s Safety Sense system. The new Land Cruiser is rated to tow up to 3.5 tonnes (matching the towing capacity of the Toyota Hilux).

Renault will be offering the new Renault 5 E-Tech electric with two lithium-ion batteries. The biggest, which will be the only one available initially, has a capacity of 52kWh and a range of up to 400km (WLTP). The second has a capacity of 40kWh for a range of up to 300km (WLTP).

Irish pricing for the Renault 5 E-Tech electric which will be available here early in 2025 start from €25,995 including incentives, rising to €32,995 for the higher spec versions.

Škoda will be offering the new Elroq with engine and battery powered options, with a maximum range of over 560 kilometres. Its standard equipment includes a rear-view camera, Crew Protect Assist, Side Assist, 13-inch infotainment and SmartLink. Skoda claims that the Elroq is the most affordable electric vehicle in its segment, with a starting price of €36,545 after rebates and delivery charges are applied. As a result, the Škoda Elroq is priced below, its similarly sized Karoq ICE counterpart in the Škoda portfolio in the Irish market.

Kia’s new EV3, the company’s dedicated compact EV SUV, will be available in January 2025. The EV3 prices starts from €36,790. EV3 will be available in three trims including Earth 2, Earth 3 and GT-line. Featuring an 81.4kWh battery and AER range of up 605km; Earth 2 models also come with a 58.3kWh battery choice featuring an AER range of 436km. The EV3’s battery is also equipped with a liquid cooling system, which is used during charging to optimise battery thermal management and enhance charging speeds enabling charging from 10 to 80 percent capacity in 29 minutes.