Dated 11/7/2021
MAINSTREAM ELECTRIC VEHICLE (MEV)
Customer Needs Document.
By
Shawn Li
Venkata Pranay Sai Vykuntam
Sreenija Mandala
Ashok Murikinati
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION
INTRODUCTION
PURPOSE
SCOPE
HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS
VEHICLE DIMENSION
VEHICLE PERFORMANCE
SAFETY
QUALITY
INTRODUCTION
PURPOSE
This Customer Needs document defines the Mainstream Electric Vehicle (MEV) needs by customers.
SCOPE
This needs document is primarily focused on, but not wholly limited to, product hardware needs for production of the MEV. Importance ranking for needs and requirements will go from 1 (low) to 5 (high) and will be located at the end of each need and requirements.
2.0 HARDWARE NEEDS
2.1 Dimensions – MEV needs to be able to not require additional parking and driving infrastructure to drive it on the road and to be stored at customer’s homes. (5)
The MEV needs to be able to fit on the roads within United States. (5)
Vehicle Width – The MEV shall not exceed 94 inches wide (including rear view mirrors.) (5)
Rationale: Average parking space is 96 inches.
The MEV needs to be able to fit in the average customer’s garage. (5)
Vehicle Height – The MEV shall not exceed 80 inches in height. (Primary requirement) (5)
Rationale: Lowest parking garage is 84 inches tall.
Vehicle Length – The MEV shall not exceed 220 inches in length. (Primary requirement) (5)
Rationale: Average parking garage is 240 inches long.
Vehicle ride height– The MEV shall not have a ride height lower than 4.1 inches. (5)
Rationale: USA speed hump height is max 4 inches per US DOT Traffic Calming ePrimer.
The MEV needs to not require an additional grade of driver’s license to be driven by the user. (5)
Vehicle weight – The MEV shall not exceed a gross vehicle weight rating of 20,000 pounds. (5)
Rationale: USA class C driver’s license is limited to 20,000 lbs.
2.2 VEHICLE PERFORMANCE – MEV needs to offer class competitive performance figures to be a desirable product in the market. (3)
The MEV needs to be able to be competitive in vehicle acceleration and braking compared to its competition. (4)
Vehicle Braking (Ideal) – The MEV should not exceed braking distance of 133 feet at 60 mph. (5)
Rationale: Tesla model 3 has a braking distance of 133 feet @ 60mph.
Vehicle Acceleration – The MEV should have an acceleration time from 0-60 mph no slower than 5.5 seconds. (3)
Rationale: Cheapest Tesla model 3 has a time of 5.3 seconds. While MEV is not looking to out-perform the Tesla in acceleration, it should not be significantly slower.
Vehicle Range – The MEV shall have a base range of no less than 250 miles. (5)
Rationale: This range is required to be competitive within this market segment.
Vehicle Top Speed – The MEV should have a top speed of at least 110 mph. (1)
Rationale: Customer interaction shows that a top speed of over 100 mph is desirable to be appealing.
The MEV need to be easy to recharge. (5)
Charging input – MEV shall accept 110V-480V charging station. (5)
Rationale: 110V is home charging while 480V is a Tesla supercharging station.
Charge speed – MEV shall be able to reach 80% charge from 0% in 15 minutes. (3)
Rationale: Tesla model 3 can charge up 200 miles in 15 minutes.
The MEV need to give the customer a sense of advanced technology. (3)
Vehicle Autonomous Driving Abilities – The MEV should have the option to support level 2.5 autonomous driving. (3)
Rationale: Market research indicates that EV customers are technology conscience in their vehicles.
Traffic-Sign Recognition – The MEV should have the ability to read and display road signs and speed limits. (1)
Heads Up Display (HUD) – The MEV should have the ability to support a HUD to display speed, blind spot detection, and signal changes. (2)
2.3 SAFETY – MEV is safe for customers both in preventative measures and active protection systems. (5)
MEV needs to be safe for the users in case of a crash. (5)
Airbags – The MEV shall have at minimum of 8 airbags within the vehicle. (Driver, passenger, side airbag curtains for all 4 windows, and two knee airbags for front row.) (5)
Rationale: This number is to provide protection to drivers and passengers in the front and provide protection of passengers in the back.
Telematics – MEV should incorporate a system to connect the user to emergency services in the case of a crash that prevents the user from accessing their phone. (5)
Rationale: There have been crashes where the driver is stuck within a vehicle and is unable to reach their communication device.
Battery safety: MEV shall have battery protection to prevent puncture of the battery pack if debris strikes the pack. (5)
MEV needs to have crash prevention systems to warn user of unsafe conditions. (5)
Vehicle Blind Spot Monitoring – The MEV shall have the ability to monitor its blind spot in real time and alert the driver if there is an object located in the blind spot. (5)
Rationale: Market research indicates that EV customers are technology conscience in their vehicles. Blind spot detection is a common standard feature in this market price segment.
Vehicle Backup Camera/Sensors – The MEV shall have a backup camera that displays a live camera feed of behind the vehicle during reversal and warn the driver in case of object within sensor range. (5)
Vehicle Forward Collison Detection – The MEV shall have a standard forward collision warning system operational in real time and alert the driver if there is an object that is approaching at a delta rate of over 10 mph within 1000 feet of the vehicle. (4)
Rationale: Vehicle will benefit from additional safety feature to reduce chance of collision.
MEV is easy to drive at nighttime. (3)
Vehicle Automatic Lighting – The MEV should have the option to support automatic headlight system up to and including automatic high beam. (3)
Rationale: Market research indicates that EV customers are technology conscience in their vehicles. A lack of automatic lighting would reduce brand image.
Night Vision – The MEV should have the option to support night vision mode to be able see obstacles and animals during nighttime driving. (2)
Rationale: Crashes into animals such as deer are very costly to the end user.
MEV needs the ability to assist the user in unfavorable driving conditions. (5)
Hill Start Assist – MEV shall incorporate a hill start assistance function to prevent rollback of the vehicle on an incline. (5)
Electronic Stability Control (ESC) – MEV shall incorporate an electronic stability control to assist with turning the vehicle to prevent loss of control during bad weather. (5)
Rationale: ESC is critical to keeping control of a vehicle during emergency maneuvers in bad weather.
Traction Control System – MEV shall incorporate a traction control system to prevent loss of traction during acceleration on wet/ice surfaces. (5)
2.4 QUALITY – MEV is a product of quality that is worth the money to the customers.
MEV is reliable to the customer which needs to be reflected in the low cost of ownership. (4)
MEV Battery Life– The MEV shall have a battery degradation of no more than 10% over 200,000 miles. (5)
MEV probability of breakdown – The MEV should not require drivetrain repairs within 5 year/60,000 miles. (3)
MEV performs well in all seasons. (4)
Weather performance – The MEV shall be able to maintain performance in up to 3 inches of standing water and in snow. (4)
MEV cost is pocket friendly (5)
MEV purchase price – MEV shall have a purchase price that starts at no greater than $35,000. (5)
MEV maintenance- MEV should have a maintenance cost of less than $500 per year within the first 5 yr/60,000 miles. (4)
MEV has affordable infrastructure deployment. (4)
Supercharger Compatibility – MEV shall have compatibility with the Tesla supercharging network. (4)
Rationale: Tesla supercharging network has begun opening to other EV brands. Compatibility with this network reduces infrastructure cost of rolling out a new network.
MEV has readily available dealers, repair facilities.
Dealership and repair facilities – MEV shall have company dealerships within 1 hour driving distance of all top 100 cities in the United States. (4)