We now have pricing for the Meyers Manx 2.0 EV and it’s not cheap
Meyers held an event at Pebble Beach to announce its new Resorter NEV, a lower-speed version of its upcoming Manx 2.0 electric dune buggy. At the event we also learned pricing for the 2.0 EV, and it’s a lot higher than we had hoped.
The Meyers Manx 2.0 EV is a resurrection of the iconic original dune buggy, which started off as a kit car built on a modified VW Beetle chassis. The car was popular in the 1960s as a desert racer and beach cruiser. The kit cost around $500-$1,000, in 1967 dollars, plus whatever it cost to get the various VW Beetle parts you needed to complete the build.
But the 2.0 is its own beast, built from the ground up as a tiny 1,500lb all-terrain EV, with a choice of a 20 or 40 kWh battery, 60kW charging, with 202hp and 0-60 in 4.5 seconds for the bigger-battery version – and no doors.
From the look and specs of it, it seems like it would be a blast to drive, especially for those who live in areas with good weather, like Newport Beach, California, where the original Meyers kit car was first conceived in a garage and where the new incarnation of Meyers – now owned by venture capital firm Trousdale – is still headquartered.
Meyers Manx 2.0 EV price: $74,000
And today, we learned how much the Meyer Manx 2.0 EV will set you back, and the price is higher than we wished: $74,000. Meyers has only released the base price, so we don’t know how much options will cost – in particular how much the upgraded 40kWh battery will set you back over the base 20kWh version.
Meyers had set expectations high from the start, holding introductory events in Malibu and Pebble Beach, not areas known for bargain-hunting. And the company plans to use pricey materials in the vehicle’s construction – for example, the roof of the Manx 2.0 EV is made of carbon fiber. As a new company making a bespoke beach buggy, with necessarily low production numbers, economies of scale will be working against it.
If you’re interested in the Manx 2.0 EV at $74k, Meyers is taking $500 deposits. It expects to ship the 2.0 EV in 2024, and is looking for 50 early-interest beta testers who will drive the car and provide feedback ahead of wide release.
Electrek’s Take
I’m no stranger to pricey early EV programs, having participated as a driver of the original Mini E, in 2009, which started off as a lease-only deal at $950/month. It was great fun being part of a group of 500 people, several of whom I still keep in touch with, and feeling like we had a part in shaping the future of BMW’s EV programs and even the EV industry as a whole. It’s why I’m even here to begin with, it’s what started my EV journey. So the idea of Manx’s beta program brought back fond memories of that time for me.
That said, we had hoped that a small, stripped-down EV for getting around town or using as a beach/desert toy would be more affordable than this. At this price, it’s positioned itself as a toy for some very-wealthy beach dwellers, who don’t mind spending almost double the price of the average new car in America for a car that will pretty much necessarily be a secondary or partial-use vehicle.
It’s not really fair to compare this car to higher-production vehicles from established companies, but given that the Leaf and Bolt exist in the sub-30k range and each have batteries of 40kWh or larger, are twice as big, and have a lot more “real car” things in the cockpit (touchscreen infotainment, doors, interior storage, and so on), we had hoped to see something a little closer to that.
Especially considering that the heritage of the Manx 2.0 was not expensive. As mentioned above (and in this Car & Driver article from 1967), when it first came out in the 60s, you could build one for as little as ~$800. That’s the equivalent of about ~$7k in 2023 dollars, after accounting for general inflation levels. Though you could spend up to around ~$4,000 if you really tricked it out, which is about ~$36k in 2023 dollars.
Heck, at this price, you could probably even buy an original one and convert it to electric, which for other vehicles is never really the economical choice – but here it might even be cheaper than going with a new base model Manx 2.0.
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After a month off trying to wrap our heads around all the chaos surrounding EVs, solar, and everything else in Washington, we’re back with the biggest EV news stories of the day from Tesla, Ford, Volvo, and everyone else on today’s hiatus-busting episode of Quick Charge!
It just gets worse and worse for the Tesla true believers – especially those willing to put their money where Elon’s mouth is! One believer is set to lose nearly $50,000 betting on Tesla’s ability to deliver a Robotaxi service by the end of June (didn’t happen), and the controversial CEO’s most recent spat with President Trump had TSLA down nearly 5% in pre-morning trading.
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Hyundai is getting ready to shake things up. A new electric crossover SUV, likely the Hyundai IONIQ 2, is set to debut in the coming months. It will sit below the Kona Electric as Hyundai expands its entry-level EV lineup.
Is Hyundai launching the IONIQ 2 in 2026?
After launching the Inster late last year, Hyundai is already preparing to introduce a new entry-level EV in Europe.
Xavier Martinet, President and CEO of Hyundai Europe, confirmed that the new EV will be revealed “in the next few months.” It will be built in Europe and scheduled to go on sale in mid-2026.
Hyundai’s new electric crossover is expected to be a twin to the Kia EV2, which will likely arrive just ahead of it next year.
It will be underpinned by the same E-GMP platform, which powers all IONIQ and Kia EV models (EV3, EV4, EV5, EV6, and EV9).
Like the Kia EV3, it will likely be available with either a 58.3 kWh or 81.4 kWh battery pack option. The former provides a WLTP range of 267 miles while the latter is rated with up to 372 miles. All trims are powered by a single electric motor at the front, producing 201 hp and 209 lb-ft of torque.
Although it may share the same underpinnings as the EV2, Hyundai’s new entry-level EV will feature an advanced new software and infotainment system.
According to Autocar, the interior will represent a “step change” in terms of usability and features. The new system enables new functions, such as ambient lighting and sounds that adjust depending on the drive mode.
It’s expected to showcase Hyundai’s powerful new Pleos software and infotainment system. As an end-to-end software platform, Pleos connects everything from the infotainment system (Pleos Connect) to the Vehicle Operating System (OS) and the cloud.
Pleos is set to power Hyundai’s upcoming software-defined vehicles (SDVs) with new features like autonomous driving and real-time data analysis.
As an Android-based system, Pleos Connect features a “smartphone-like UI” with new functions including multi-window viewing and an AI voice assistant.
The new electric crossover is expected to start at around €30,000 ($35,400), or slightly less than the Kia EV3, priced from €35,990 ($42,500). It will sit between the Inster and Kona Electric in Hyundai’s lineup.
Hyundai said that it would launch the first EV with its next-gen infotainment system in Q2 2026. Will it be the IONIQ 2? Hyundai is expected to unveil the new entry-level EV at IAA Mobility in September. Stay tuned for more info. We’ll keep you updated with the latest.
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Tesla has unveiled its lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery cell factory in Nevada and claims that it is nearly ready to start production.
Like several other automakers using LFP cells, Tesla relies heavily on Chinese manufacturers for its battery cell supply.
Tesla’s cheapest electric vehicles all utilize LFP cells, and its entire range of energy storage products, Megapacks and Powerwalls, also employ the more affordable LFP cell chemistry from Chinese manufacturers.
This reliance on Chinese manufacturers is less than ideal and particularly complicated for US automakers and battery pack manufacturers like Tesla, amid an ongoing trade war between the US and virtually the entire world, including China.
As of last year, a 25% tariff already applied to battery cells from China, but this increased to more than 80% under Trump before he paused some tariffs on China. It remains unclear where they will end up by the time negotiations are complete and the trade war is resolved, but many expect it to be higher.
Prior to Trump taking power, Tesla had already planned to build a small LFP battery factory in the US to avoid the 25% tariffs.
The automaker had secured older manufacturing equipment from one of its battery cell suppliers, CATL, and planned to deploy it in the US for small-scale production.
Tesla has now released new images of the factory in Nevada and claimed that it is “nearing completion”:
Here are a few images from inside the factory (via Tesla):
Previous reporting stated that Tesla aims to produce about 10 GWh of LFP battery cells per year at the new factory.
The cells are expected to be used in Tesla’s Megapack, produced in the US. Tesla currently has a capacity to produce 40 GWh of Megapacks annually at its factory in California. The company is also working on a new Megapack factory in Texas.
Ford is also developing its own LFP battery cell factory in Michigan, but this facility is significantly larger, with a planned production capacity of 35 GWh.
Electrek’s Take
It’s nice to see this in the US. LFP was a US/Canada invention, with Arumugam Manthiram and John B. Goodenough doing much of the early work, and researchers in Quebec making several contributions to help with commercialization.
But China saw the potential early and invested heavily in volume manufacturing of LFP cells and it now dominates the market.
Tesla is now producing most of its vehicles with LFP cells and all its stationary energy storage products.
It makes sense to invest in your own production. However, Tesla is unlikely to catch up to BYD and CATL, which dominate LFP cell production.
The move will help Tesla avoid tariffs on a small percentage of its Megapacks produced in the US. Ford’s effort is more ambitious.
It’s worth noting that both Ford’s and Tesla’s LFP plants were planned before Trump’s tariffs, which have had limited success in bringing manufacturing back to the US.
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