I agree with the logic however I question if this will overcome the competitive and legislative effects.
1. Legislative.
The impact and service requirements means that for a given vehicle shape (SUV, Car, Hatch, SWB/LWB - FWD/RWD/4WD) the battery location will also impact the packaging? You can build cells and then package the cells but this still results in compromise from where I suspect you are correctly heading. I see two paths at the moment, Flat "roller-skate" packages which permit this commonality and "petrol/PHEV/BEV same production line/shape" where the packaging makes this more difficult.
2. White Goods Issue.
If all of the cars use the same motors and batteries the car becomes even closer to white goods and the brand will have more trouble charging for it's (so-called) special sauce ? I do appreciate that the current state of supplier consolidation already does a fair amount of this under the covers with GKN Seimens and others providing a lot of the components across many companies. I already think that the brand proliferation within the VW/Audi/Seat/Skoda/Bentley/Lambo company has reduced the value in their brand. Seeing all the same parts with slightly different knobs on them makes it a bit of a waste of time. The pressure on "premium" is increasing all the time. The Mercedes A Class is now among the highest selling cars in the UK and the Focus is under pressure. How long can they remain premium if more and more of the big parts are seen as common?
RS6 or Porsche Panamera Hunchback Hybred-S ? What is the additional value of the £25k (include options for true match) on the hunchback over the RS when you can see so many of the bones are identical.
I also agree that the move to BEV's is a real fashion moment. Fashion is not about it looking good, it is about it looking different and so causing you to change and part with cash. I think this is the truth under the vendors massive marketing push as much as anything else. I see the push to BEV as being a bit of a red herring unless the rest of the platform is accelerated to match it. Charging, disposal, grants and taxes, servicing, roadside recovery all play a part in the lifetime experience. I would be inclined to see a FCV as more like a range extender in the same manner as a BMW i3 ? It also fails to address the issue of using the road infrastructure more efficiently. What would be the total cost of moving everyone to BEV ? Would it be more effective to give everyone a free App around organised car sharing for the major populous routes. You drive to a park and ride and then jump on a shared vehicle (did they call them busses once?) You put big magnets on the front and rear of cars and as they join a motorway they click together to a tractor unit and form a mobile train which rolls up the motorway. You then detatch and do the last urban hop under your own power.. Computers link and manage the train in flight. This improves density, safety, emissions and allows you to relax for the boring bit. There are lots of things that can be done outside of the gut reaction fashion moment being pushed on us that can have significant effect but I am not hearing about these from the politicians that are meant to lead us or the car companies looking to obtain our money.
A someone from the IT industry used to early releases of products (beta release) I am viewing these cars Beta+1 releases. Prius did a good job of getting the ball rolling. Leaf was a brave move. Tesla opened up a newer high end market. I like the new approach of Mazda with improved petrol efficiency and small battery packs. I do like the idea of Diesel Electric for higher mileage drivers who go into cities.
What is the priority of the goal here.
Reduced consumption (conservation)
Reduced emissions (air quality, city issues)
Improved experience (quiet, comfort, mess around the diesel pump)
You could fix 1 & 2 without moving wholesale to BEV.
This is before we look at more effective Rx (range extender) engine types ? As I have said before if you highly optimise an engine to work at one speed and profile to charge the batteries and extend the BEV systems range it will be far more efficient, smaller, lighter and easier to build. Tiny rotary, gas turbine, CVCC petrol everything is up for grabs. I like the way Mazda are thinking.
