Case Study for the Integrated Development of a Modular System for Vehicle Superstructures of Battery Electric Light Commercial Vehicles

Considering fossil fuel scarcity, future transportation is a core challenge for industry and society. With increasing urbanization, the issue of emission-free transportation is of particular relevance for metropolitan areas. To reduce pollution, environmental zones have been set up in numerous German cities. These affect small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) that operate within the city centers, but whose logistics are diesel-based. At the same time, battery electric light commercial vehicles (BELCVs) are more expensive than diesel vehicles. Apart from component costs, this is partly due to lower volumes and limited economies of scale. In the context of vehicle structures in BELCVs, new possibilities for installation space design arise. This paper aims to modularize this installation space tailored to SMEs’ needs. Since purchasing is the primary cost driver for SMEs, the presented case study pursues the goal of realizing "car-sharing" for BELCVs via modularization, so that capital investments can be distributed among several parties. Thus, the objectives of the present paper are sharing the lessons learned of the case study and contributing to the validation of the modular system design methodology used.