Originaly pubished on newatlas.com

Tesla Model 3

We generally don't do these year-end lists in any particular order, but given the huge hype machine behind the Tesla Model 3, we feel it's the perfect example of why 2016 was a pivotal year in EV history. So, here it is, our first pick.

After years of building the electric vehicle to beat, a vehicle out of reach for most, Tesla finally revealed the affordable car that will take its electric technology mainstream. The Model 3 looks as sexy as we knew an entry level Tesla could, and its projected performance and price are just as sexy. According to Tesla, the five-seater will offer around 215 miles (346 km) of range, fire to 60 mph (96.5 km/h) in less than six seconds and price in at US$35,000 before incentives. Tesla also plans for a five-star safety rating, Autopilot hardware and performance models.

Volkswagen ID

Tesla may have had the EV announcement of the year, but it certainly wasn't the only big EV reveal. Volkswagen was among multiple major global automakers revealing concepts and production cars to lay the foundation of an electric future, and it gets extra credit for showing two electric concepts and jumpstarting the electrifying year at January's Consumer Electronics Show.

It was there that Volkswagen detailed the Modular Electric Drive Kit (MEB) that will underpin its future EVs. It showed it on a rather disappointing reimagining of the Microbus, called Budd-e, then followed up at the Paris Motor Show with a preview of its first planned MEB-based production car, the ID concept.

Chevy Bolt

The Chevy Bolt seems more like a 2015 story, because that's when we first learned about it, but Chevy's robustly ranged EV was but a concept last year, debuting in production form at CES 2016. It might be the least flashy car on this list, but it's also the one that's actually ready now ... not years from now or maybe never. It's also a pretty attractive mix of performance and price, offering a 200-hp electric motor, sub-6.5-second 0-60, and higher-than-estimated 238-mile (383-km) EPA-tested range ... all starting at $37,495 before incentives. With a $7,500 US federal tax credit, the Bolt slides in under $30K. It won't get people excited the way the Model 3 or I-Pace will, but it certainly takes a bite out of several of the issues that have been holding EVs back, namely range anxiety and very high prices.

LeEco LeSEE

If we're going to discuss Faraday Future, we should also discuss LeEco, the multifaceted Chinese tech company whose hip Faraday is joined at. LeEco and its CEO Jia Yueting want badly to dethrone Tesla as electric vehicle king, and the LeSEE concept it debuted in April might not be such a bad way to do it. Like the Model S, it has smooth, endearing style, and while the design certainly shows evidence of Tesla influence, it doesn't look like an unapologetic knockoff the way lesser Chinese electric cars do. LeEco plans to tie the LeSEE into its greater tech ecosystem, with visions of an autonomous electric car that serves up LeEco video and other connected services.

LeEco didn't provide details on the powertrain, either at the LeSEE's Chinese debut in April or at its US debut in October, but the company has stressed that it wants the car to be faster than the Model S, with a greater range. The LeSEE is basically just a "first look" at LeEco's developing electric vehicle program, and its future is unclear, especially taking into consideration headlines that LeEco is running into money problems due to the feverish expansion mentality that led it to pursue an electric vehicle program in the first place. It remains to be seen if the company's Chinese Tesla fighter ever becomes a serious proposition, but if it does, we saw it first in 2016.