That’s great, but I’m thinking along the lines of a car rather than a van.
Depending on the brand and model one can add a full size spare to the initial purchase. One of our family did so with the purchase of a Hyundai IONIQ-5. Other brands may not be as interested. There can be a small compromise in the luggage space with the full size spare sitting above the floor level in many vehicles.
As you note it is not a problem unique to BEV’s. It was how my AWD Subaru, a 2000 year model arrived complete with the silly 80kph skinny spare. The cynic here suggested the skinny spare is a cost saving measure by the manufacturer, falsely promoted to the customer as intended to save weight and increase boot volume.
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The Honda Jazz vehicles all come with the emergency (skinny) spare.
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Battery swapping might be starting to take off elsewhere …
We’d be happy with a built in battery. Firstly because the cheapest recharging will come from the home solar PV. Secondly because our regular driving is well within the range of many of the current BEV models. One might expect to pay a premium for a swap service. It would suit some owners without convenient access to charging, but not others.
To consider as battery technology evolves both fixed and swap batteries will benefit. Is the infrastructure put in place for battery swapping also likely to support recharging the swapped packs? Likely to also be a great place to pull over for a fast top up of your fixed battery EV.
One of the challenges with swapping batteries as it changes the financial dynamics of BEVs. Currently operating costs quoted by mainstream media and the industry doesn’t include depreciation, as it is has up until recently been known. With swappable batteries, the cost of a charged battery to swap will include the depreciation (or battery value + interest + profit) in the cost of the swap. This will make the energy component of using a BEV with swappable batteries significantly more than is currently the case with fixed batteries.
Calculation for each swap would be something like:
[Battery pack cost/life of battery (years/charges)] + energy + maintenance and servicing + profit
Currently energy is the costs often the thing only thought about when comparing fuel costs between different transportation options.
Very keen to own an EV. Unfortunately there are very limited choices to meet my specific requirements as a wheelchair user.
We need the space to be able to put the wheelchair in the back without pulling it apart. My chair is not a folding chair for good reasons.
To get the required space we are generally looking at so called SUVs but these are too high for daily transfer from chair to drivers seat.
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The Indian company Mahindra has a range of electric SUVs coming to Australia in 2025 . They could be worth a look as Mahindra has a solid foundation for good engineering .
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Have you considered an electric van rather than an SUV? Vans are designed for ease of getting goods in and out, which might translate to easier for someone to transfer from wheelchair to driver’s seat, and should have plenty of space for the non-folding chair, too.
They’re pricey, but so are SUVs. 
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Interesting idea. I assume you are advocating removing the driver seat and perhaps putting in a ramp at the back? The existing drivers seat in these van would be too high.
My current car is a skoda superb wagon and previously I have had subaru liberties. My preference would be to stick with a wagon which would be easier to drive around than a van (and sportier 
). Yes there is a certain amount of pride in my car choice however, in the future, a van may become the preference.
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I’m in the exact same boat as you. I’m going to keep my current car until something too expensive goes wrong with it (2009 Outlander w/droppable tailgate).
If/when I need to upgrade the best EV looked to me like a BYD E6. It’s an “SUV” but looks more akin to a Honda Odyssey.
Boot space/height looks good. It’s a bit sparse in some things (e.g. no cruise control) but looks excellent in other ways (450km+ range, Lithium Iron Phosphate battery for long life)
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Understandable! But at the moment I don’t think there are many station wagon EVs being sold in Australia. VW has released one - the ID.7 Tourer - in Europe, but it might be a while before it gets here.
However, it looks like the BYD E6 has been available here since 2021. Doesn’t look overly large, but if a Subaru Liberty was OK, the BYD might be worth a look? I haven’t yet come across any other EV wagons that are actually in Australia.
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I thought polestar had a wagon but can’t find it now and it looks like they have gone the way of the SUV now as well.
What put me off the polestar wagon was the central tail shaft tunnel. It felt this was an EV conversion rather than an EV. Yes I am being fussy now.
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The tunnel is often still a piece of the manufacturing as it is used for the cabling needed to provide power to the rear wheels, brake fluid ducting and other electrical cabling. Putting this into a tunnel makes the underbody a cleaner look, and reduces the problems of important components being able to be caught and damaged. It is a conscious decision of manufacturers.
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Fair enough, but there are ways to still have the underside clean and not have the tunnel. Aesthetically the tunnel is unappealing for me.
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That’s a very fair comment and absolutely a valid choice. I am not dismissive of your concern, I was just explaining why they are still a feature in some of the vehicles interiors.
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I am a “petrol head” at heart and I also work within the industry within the top 5 manufactures.
Its interesting to note there was a big push for Diesel cars back in 2013-2015 because the fuel was so cheap and got more milage from a tank. But once the price of Diesel went up the demand dropped (also people started to understand that although Diesel has small C02 emissions the other emissions were just as bad). So will this also happen with EVs 
My situation is that I would not purchase an EV atm … purely because I do not like the power delivery of EV’s to the wheels. There is definitely a disconnection from the point of view of mechanics / physics. Yes EV’s have an abundance of torque … but part of a good “ICE engine” is the driver can feel the power delivery through the RMP’s and apply the right amount of throttle to turn the car at the right point in a corner. I also understand that the majority of people who don’t take this into consideration (or even care about it) it doesn’t become an concern.
Hopefully the engineers can fix this issue one day.
The other point is economic. An ICE engine has thousands of parts whilst an EV has a couple of hundred. My statement seems counterintuitive but if ICE engines go then so will alot of manufactures that product widgets and gidgets … which will be a huge impact on many economies.
Anyhow that’s my 2c … this issue is not going to be solved overnight and in the meantime a mix of Petrol / Hybrid / EV / Hydrogen is probably the most sensible solution.
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Not counterintuitive to me. I think it’s been true of every major technology shift in history. Whenever an older technology’s abandoned, or the demand for it reduces dramatically, the businesses and people that used to support it will be without a job. The bigger the total volume of business involved, the bigger the problem can be.
What will happen with EVs?
Of course. Sunset industries need transition plans. Society wants to do away with your job so society should help you get another.
I don’t think we should treat ICE mechanics like farriers and manure sweepers were treated, where they were told “tough”. On the other hand there is no stopping the change and we ought not slow it down because it will be difficult.
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