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Originally Posted by Martinjlm
Whether or not it is too late depends on the vehicle manufacturer and their manufacturing strategies. For most of the manufacturers that I am aware of it is too late. Most EV manufacturers, both start-up and legacy OEMs, integrate the battery box as part of the platform structure. Some even use the battery box cover as the floor of the vehicle in order to reduce mass and add to structural rigidity. The picture below shows the difference in body structure when designing to use the battery box structure as the floor of the vehicle. The figure on the right is the direction that the industry is heading.
“Swapping” the battery then becomes the equivalent of a frame adjustment. Not something I’d want to do every week or two. The one glaring exception is Nio. But they designed the car AND the battery swap process together.
Nobody else is doing that.
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Just some thoughts. Nio, or something likewise, is multiple times faster than charging and at parity with a gas refuel. When it's looked at from charge cable vulnerability, it's better for higher performance charging to be less accessible to the public, and slower top-offs to be more disposable/replaceable. Swap stations would cost more but can take up less real estate with quick times.
How much of an albatross is perceived battery degradation on re-sale value? Swap subscriptions or packages might help there. Ultium modules' future-proofing attribute play well with a swap concept.
Form factors for 2 and 3 row crossovers would cover the majority of vehicles companies want to sell. The majority of people don't really care about weight gain from needing a floor pan, Tesla enthusiasts might ...high class fleas jumping to Jay Leno's chest hair aren't going to be bothered by crabs hanging off Elon's sack, and vice-versa.