My apologies for being 2 months late to the conversation. I thought I'd chime in and address some of the questions below and feel free to shoot some back.
Top Speed
~120MPH, while you won't use this kind of top speed, our objective is to ensure high efficiency at highway speeds, which also allows us to reach higher top end speeds. Aftermarket vendors may choose to re-gear the gearbox for higher speeds or greater torque and lower speeds and we will leave this to the aftermarket community.
Four-wheel steering
We have some concepts around this that are new to the industry and are still working through details on achievement. It's done quite often today and has been done in the past with straight axle designs. Our front and rear drive assemblies are currently identical, which means we can fix the steering geometry or provide electronic capabilities. Having a solid rear steer capability means greater stability control while driving, especially while towing, and improved maneuverability while towing or traveling at slow speeds.
Frunks
A frunk in a truck is one of the biggest things we look forward to. That being said, trucks sit high, it's expected that you can load heavy items into these spaces. So a frunk must be done right. Our frunk will be easily accessible, height perfected for tall and short people, and capable of handling more than just the groceries and a cooler. You'll also find plug-ins for USB, 110v and 220V receptacles, as well as air.
Vehicle battery pack capacity
Our vehicle will be capable of holding a very significant battery pack size, making it versatile enough to scale from Class 1 all the way to a Class 6 vehicle. Our design is optimized for a 500-mile range and charge in 15 minutes on the Atlis Motor Vehicles Advanced Charging station. Existing efforts in charging stations are just not powerful enough to meet long-term visions, and not powerful enough to charge a vehicle of this size in a reasonable amount of time.
Independent Motors and weight
This is not unheard of configuration for vehicles and has been perfected by several others. The independent motor design allows us to develop a drive system that is significantly lighter than existing diesel vehicle powertrains today with higher torque and power outputs.
Why a 3KWh test?
Simple, to ensure we could adequately test with any existing charging station within range of us. Until recently, the only station with greater than 50KW of power was in Kentucky, but within the next few weeks, there will be a
CCS station capable of DC fast charging in the 350KW ranges. Our pack capacity, while small for this test, was intended to show publicly that it could be done and also allow us to test well beyond the standard 4C charge rates to achieve our goal. With a 3KW pack, we were able to push this pack to the point of failure and better understand these failure points and how it affects our decisions going forward.
How does this 3KWh pack scale?
The cooling system and pack construction we've designed can easily scale in capacity while maintaining proper performance. Does the increased size mean increased heat? Of course, it does, and existing cooling methods aren't capable of managing this, so we build a new system. Fast charging a cell is not difficult unless of course, you've designed the wrong cell, chemistry, and your pack design cannot adequately manage this performance. There are definitely examples of other cells available today that can charge faster, typically with much lower energy density, so we set out to ensure we could meet the high energy density requirements while still maintaining a system which is capable of fast charging.
Longevity of the pack
Our goal is a ten-year life of the vehicle, with continuous fast charge cycles for that lifetime. We're achieving this through a proprietary method, that while I'd love to share we cannot do so at this time. With that in mind, I would challenge you with a question: With everything you know about battery cell capabilities today, how would you design a pack that lasts for 10 years? The solution is not as hard as you think it is.
Don't focus on what others say is possible or what others have achieved, focus on what the customer wants and find a solution to solve this problem. Anybody can build an electric vehicle today with high torque, fast acceleration, and range, but not everyone can build an electric vehicle that creates real value for the end customer.
Mark
Atlis Motor Vehicles
