Where Are All the EV Convertibles?

• There are currently no electric convertibles available in the market, though models like the Hummer EV offer large removable panels.

• Previously, there were more options for true open-top electric driving, including the original Tesla Roadster and the Smart Fortwo Electric Drive Cabrio.
  

• The question remains: Is the dearth of EVs available in convertible form due to safety issues? Or is the lack of options due to the fact that so few buy convertibles to begin with?

We now have electric sedans, SUVs, pickup trucks, supercars, and even hypercars. But what about convertibles? The pickings are slim, and one reason for that may be safety. Standard practice is to put heavy battery packs underneath the floor, which increases interior space and beneficially lowers the vehicle’s center of gravity.

But in a rollover situation, that heavy battery pack could easily crush the fragile soft top—and the occupants inside. The good news is that the same down-low pack acts to prevent a rollover in the first place.

Volkswagen is considering a convertible version of the ID.3 electric hatchback, but plans may not have gone much beyond the renderings (as seen at the top) shown last year from SRK Designs. Other concepts have come from Bentley (the EXP 12 Speed 6E, circa 2017) and Nissan (a Leaf convertible, circa 2018), though there are no production plans. Mini seems intent on offering an electric convertible by 2025.

Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) fans can order their Jeep Wrangler 4xe (the bestselling PHEV in America) with a power retractable soft top, but that’s essentially a large folding sunroof—not a full convertible. The forthcoming Jeep Recon EV, which will start production in 2024, is also open-air, with “a one-touch powertop, removable doors and glass,” Jeep said. The BMW i8 PHEV was briefly offered in convertible form, but is discontinued.

EV convertibles we’ve lost include the Smart Fortwo Electric Drive Cabrio and the original Tesla Roadster. A new edition of the latter is reportedly coming, but despite the name it’s not really a “roadster” in the classic sense. It has a removable glass roof that can be stored in the trunk, a targa-type configuration. The heavy Hummer EV also has removable panels.

Those recent designs, and that of the Jeep, might suggest that automakers are consciously keeping some type of hard roof over the heads of people in EV convertibles. The VW ID.3 concept and the Mini design are outliers as full ragtops, but the VW at least is more of an idea than a car.