Electric skateboards are an interim step to battery-chassis-body integration and the implications for car designers will be enormous. New packaging designs are possible and old ones will be renewed. Car Design News’ Karl Smith investigates the near future
It goes without saying that the type and configuration of the powertrain of an automobile goes a long way in determining its packaging, proportion, stance and interior configuration. Every automotive designer above an introductory class design knows this.
For decades, this truism was discussed in terms of internal combustion engines, but since the turn of the century, the conversation has broadened to include electric powertrains, which also promise to dominate the conversation in the coming decades.
It is a remarkable transformation, occurring with great swiftness and, given the climate change emergency, a palpable urgency. There is lots to debate here- batteries types, various battery cell configurations, motors, and more. But opportunities specific to the design of interiors often lie with the arrangement of batteries.
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As the all-electric Renault 5 E-Tech breaks cover at the 2024 Geneva Show today, we can share details from our private visit to Renault’s Technocentre design studio in early February, with head of design Gilles Vidal in charge of the show-and-tell
Car Design News looks at some of the design stories that may have gone under the radar over the last week, including news from BYD, Karma, Kia, Lancia, Nissan, Peugeot and more
EV carmaker Xpeng is getting into the flying car game with its new brand Xpeng AeroHT, revealing not one but two different vehicles slated for production
