Electric Vehicle Manufacturing: Designing for the Customer in 2024

 Automakers in 2024 face a familiar challenge with modern stakes: ensuring the customer’s voice remains central in the design of electric vehicles. Since the early 1900s, manufacturers have relied on two primary approaches—dedicated EV platforms and multi‑functional platforms. The latter remains more economical, but it can introduce compromises that customers increasingly notice.

 

Recent video reports highlight one such issue: rear‑seat passengers in EVs built on multi‑functional platforms often sit with raised knees due to battery packs mounted beneath the floor. Luxury manufacturers have mitigated this by packaging batteries along the center tunnel—running from the dashboard toward the rear—reducing the intrusion into footwells. However, this solution only works when the vehicle’s roofline provides enough vertical space. Without adequate distance from floor to ceiling, comfort becomes a real concern.

So where should a manufacturer begin? In 2024, the answer depends on strategy and budget. Developing fully electric or hybrid vehicles often carries higher costs than traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) programs. How a company allocates resources during this transition will determine not only the success of its EV lineup but also the pace of its long‑term growth.

Building an EV brand is not for the faint‑hearted. It requires years of learning, iteration, and disciplined planning. Fortunately, modern tools—from advanced computing systems to GPUs from Intel, NVIDIA, and AMD—allow engineers to model, simulate, and refine designs with unprecedented precision. But even with powerful technology, poor planning can disrupt operations and create costly setbacks for companies in transition.

Once a plan is established, the real work begins follow up, adjust, refine, release, discuss, and repeat. EV development is a cycle, not a single milestone. The companies that embrace this rhythm will be the ones that thrive in the electric era.