The Electra is making a comeback. Buick has announced that it’s bringing back the classic Electra — but unlike the gas-powered Electra last seen in 1990, the new car is set to be Buick’s first electric offering. The first of the new Electra models is set to be the 2025 Electra E5 SUV, a car that’s powered by General Motors’ Ultium platform, and should be another long-range electric car that doesn’t break the bank — at least compared to the competition.
The car has been announced, but there’s still a lot we don’t know about the Buick Electra. Here’s everything we do know about it so far.
Unfortunately, one of the things we don’t yet know about the Buick Electra is its price. While Buick has released some details about the car in general, it hasn’t disclosed anything about what the car will ultimately cost.
That said, we can make some estimates. It’s largely expected that the 2025 Buick Electra E5 will start at around $50,000, with the price ranging up from there depending on the model and options.
We have a slightly better idea of the car’s release date compared to its price — but specifics are still unknown. We know that the car will be released in late 2024 as a 2025 model year car, however, we don’t yet know how late in 2025.
While we don’t know what kinds of models and colors the Electra will come in, we can speculate based on Buick’s current lineup. If Buick follows its current trends, it’ll offer an Electra E5 in “Preferred,” “Essence,” and “Avenir” trims, in order of price and features from low to high.
Of course, that’s just the naming scheme though — as for what kinds of features the different models have, we’ll still have to wait and see.
The same goes for colors. Buick has released concept images of an Electra E5 in a light metallic blue, but it remains to be seen if that color will end up being available — and what other colors it’ll come in.
Once again, we have yet to learn much about the charging speed and range for the Electra E5 specifically — but we can glean some details from the fact that we know that the car will be built on the General Motors Ultium platform.
That’s the same platform that the Cadillac Lyriq is built on, and the Lyriq gets up to 312 miles of range, and charges at up to 190kW, which means it can add 76 miles of range in around 10 minutes. It’s expected that the Electra will offer similar numbers.
Buick has yet to reveal details about the performance of the Buick Electra, but again, as a car built on the Ultium platform, it may offer similar performance to the Lyriq. The rear-wheel drive Lyriq can get from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 5.7 seconds, while the all-wheel drive model reaches speed in 4.6 seconds. It’s likely that the Electra will offer similar numbers, but again, that remains to be seen.
Buick has released an interior image of the Electra, which shows a comfortable interior and a huge 30-inch display that stretches across the dash for both instrument information and infotainment. The curved screen will likely support both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, however, the car will also likely have a 5G Wi-Fi hotspot. Further features, we’ll likely find out about at a later date.
We don’t even really know where the Electra will be manufactured yet. We do know that Buick will manufacture a model for the Chinese market in China, though it’s unclear if the North American model will be made here, or imported. If it’s imported, it’s unlikely it will qualify for the federal EV tax credit.
We’re hoping that the Buick Electra E5 can come in at a little less than the current $50,000 expected price tag, considering the fact that there are more and more competitors that are offering decent electric cars at those lower prices. We’re also hoping that the base model of the car can get close to that 300-mile range, with higher-end models potentially offering more.
Other things on our wishlist are pretty much on our wishlist for every car. Hopefully, as an SUV, the interior will be nice and spacious and the car will feel sporty when you’re behind the wheel.
We’ll update this article as we hear more about the Buick Electra and what it has to offer.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.