This story is part of our end-of-year series This Year in Gear, rounding up the most notable releases of 2023. For more stories like this, click here.
The automotive world is going electric in a hurry, and while egregious pricing and inadequate charging infrastructure remain obstacles to widespread adoption, electric vehicles still grew to nearly 8 percent of U.S. new car sales during 2023 — a figure that would have looked astounding just a few years ago.
Past years have seen EVs produce some eye-popping numbers in terms of range and power, but 2023 was all about making EVs more affordable and atainable to average American buyers. People looking to spend about the price of an average new car — a figure that now hovers around $48,000 — now have far more (and more compelling) electric options than ever before.
Here are the most notable new electric vehicles of 2023.
2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6

Hyundai Ioniq 6
Hyundai followed up the Ioniq 5 with the Ioniq 6 — and won the World Car of the Year for the second year in a row with it. The Ioniq 6 has a drag coefficient of just 0.219, slipperiness only just shy of electric luxury machines like the Lucid Air, Tesla Model S and Mercedes-Benz EQS. Unlike those, however, you can get one for less than $50,000.