New electric vehicles will not be the future! Converting old internal combustion vehicles will be. I realized this after 3 years of converting bicycles into electric bicycles. The new Ebikes that were coming out, frankly, sucked. They were "okay" bicycles powered by weak motors and priced astronomically. Meanwhile there is a plethora of awesome bikes out there (new or used) that when paired with a 750w-1000w mid drive motor makes for an amazing mode of transportation! For me it's win-win-win. You get the bike you actually want and then build it out with a motor and battery that for your needs and wants instead of trying to shoe-horn yourself into a premade Ebike and for way less money.
The same mentality works for other vehicles as well, from snowmobiles, motorcycles and cars. How often is an awesome motorcycle scrapped because the motor is blown? Maybe it's a classic cb450 that just needs a little electrification? Bam! All of a sudden that bike has a new lease on life as a high powered classic bike that is totally custom. As motors and battery prices continue to fall we will be seeing more retrofits than ever before. Places like EV West have been converting cars for years now and as more conversion shops like that pop up the cheaper a conversion will be. Before you scrap your vehicle, consider converting it!
I would add that being a parts list cross reference genius would definitely help in finding all of the parts and alternatives. That would help drive the idea of which parts are shared across which platforms to maximize the potential number of cars a part could be used for. That would help get those pre-made kits off of the ground.
I'd agree with you totally except... A car, I think would require too much alteration over too long a time. If the trend could support an industry, then there may be a maze of combinations available. It's fun when choosing components for a new PC or a conversion like you do but there are a lot more factors involved in a car.
For reasons of practicality, years and models would have to be limited to accommodate generic kits. You'll probably see far more Fiestas and Accents coming in than La Crosses.
Watching DIY van and SUV conversions, when cobbling a power system, the owners are always listing a preference for each part from the batteries to the charge controllers and…