Cashed up buyers will be tempted with zero-emission performance in 2020

Prestige customers with an appetite for green motoring will be spoiled for choice in 2020 as carmakers move to electrify their fleet. Teething trouble prevented Audi’s e-tron from reaching us in 2019, but it should arrive in the first half of 2020.

Pitched as a rival to the Jaguar I-Pace and new Mercedes-Benz EQC, the Audi e-tron is a five-seat electric SUV expected to cost about $150,000 on the road.

As with those cars, it blends a high-riding SUV body (in wagon or coupe-like Sportback form) with twin electric motors front and rear, plus all of the brand’s latest infotainment and safety technology.

Mini’s first electric car, the Cooper SE, blends a 135kW electric motor with a small battery offering about 250 kilometres of range.

Rather than trying to build the fastest or farthest-running electric car, the brand focused on making the machine feel as “Mini” as possible with agile handling and manageable dimensions. Expect it to cost at least $50,000 on the road.

Once Volvo’s performance brand, Polestar is now an electric car marque.

The Polestar 2 due in the in the fourth quarter of 2020 brings the first in-car infotainment system powered by Google’s Android.

You don’t get a key (smartphones unlock the car) but you do get a vegan interior, pixel LED headlights and quietness that surpasses most luxury cars.

There’s also the small matter of 300kW power backed by all-wheel-drive, Ohlins suspension, Brembo brakes and a 78kWh battery which lends 500km of range.

Electric vehicle fans who want the ultimate performance sedan will find it hard to go past Porsche’s Taycan Turbo S.

Capable of reaching 100km/h in 2.8 seconds, Porsche’s first electric car serves up 560kW of electric thrust in an eye-catching four-door body.

While it can’t match the long-legged range of big-battery Teslas, the Taycan promises to be the fastest electric car at charging points, receiving up to 100km of range in five minutes.

Porsche has not announced prices for the Taycan in Australia, but you can bet it won’t be cheap.

UK customers pay £138,826 ($260,000) for the Taycan Turbo S, £1306 less than the Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid that costs $467,200 plus on-roads in

Australia.

Mercedes-Benz has already launched its electric EQC crossover in Australia, so the big news for the brand in 2020 surrounds a replacement for the A-Class based GLA baby SUV and the addition of a new GLB bringing seven-seat versatility in a compact package.

If you’re after something more traditional, Hyundai’s luxury arm Genesis will launch its family-sized GV80 SUV.