[ELI5] Why do electric cars have a similar shape to regular cars when they don’t need to?

Question

I’ve always wondered why electric cars are designed to resemble regular cars so closely, even though they don’t require the same components like the internal combustion engine. It seems like this would be an opportunity to create a more practical and efficient design. Can someone explain why electric cars are shaped the way they are?

In: 7

Answer 1

As a question I don’t think there’s a perfect answer unless you’re a car designer.

Aerodynamics, safety etc are all important but the changes in car shape over recent years is more about what sells well.

You could make an aerodynamic and safe car (put storage at the front behind some compression zone) and have the engine elsewhere) but people have a predetermined expectation of what a car looks like and deviating from that appeals to only a fraction of the market.

There we see changes in car design that we call radical etc but reality are anything but.