01 Context
How did we get here?
The starting line
EVs rose in popularity with advances in electricity but soon lost traction to gasoline cars, which offered greater range and lower fuel costs. The trade-off framed the category for decades: people adopt a new powertrain when the whole experience feels dependable.
New drivers on the road
China invested because of growing environmental concerns, low energy independence, air pollution and growing competition in the west. Policy support and better batteries turned electric mobility from an old technology into a new industrial advantage.
Changing lanes
Australia’s market moved in waves. Early battery electric vehicles offered less than 100 km of range and cost around $50,000. Tesla then reset expectations around range, speed, personalisation, luxury and safety. Now lower-priced Chinese EVs are expanding choice and trust.
The interface is no longer an accessory to the vehicle. As EVs become connected, software-led products, experience design moves into the driver’s everyday relationship with the car.
02 Interaction design
Design the digital cockpit.
Safety first
Design an interface with a low need to touch the screen whilst driving, while displaying necessary information and keeping critical controls available.
Fitts’s Law
Controls placed farther away from the initial hand position will take longer to acquire than those placed closer. Keep critical, high-frequency actions within easy reach and reduce the need to look away from the road.
Form follows emotion
An EV can feel like a futuristic thrill, an eco-hero mode or an electric rush. Form follows emotion: decide how the experience should feel before choosing motion, colour or interaction patterns.
Design for the driver
Test each choice against the tech savviness of the customer, interface feedback, driver attentiveness and personalisation. A capable interface is not automatically a usable one.
Organise the cockpit
Keep driver assist and safety, entertainment and navigation, vehicle controls and reachability, and smart home integrations distinct. The system should make the next action obvious without demanding attention.
03 Service design
Design for range anxiety.
Range anxiety
The sinking fear or concern that an electric vehicle will run out of battery before reaching a destination, often exacerbated by limited charging infrastructure or uncertainty about real-world battery performance.
Reduce the wait
NIO’s Battery Swap Station is aimed at significantly reducing the time limitations of charging. It reframes charging from waiting into a short, guided service.
Make it predictable
Let the user reserve a swap in the app, recognise the car on arrival, direct it into the bay, complete the battery swap in under five minutes, then log the service before they drive off.
Design the ecosystem
The vehicle experience extends into infrastructure. IONITY shows how a high-power network can reduce long-distance uncertainty, while EVX Polechargers bring charging into familiar public streets.
Ask the right question
How might we design the ideal vehicle charging experience for the Australian EV market? Start with the whole journey, not the charger screen.
04 Takeaways
More than just a car.
More than just a car
Software-driven EVs are transforming cars into another device for customers, increasing even more interaction possibilities in their day-to-day.
Experiences over features
More cars than ever can now be connected with services, offering more opportunities to reimagine electric mobility beyond features to experience.
EVs are here to stay
Australia’s near future is electric, and traditional auto giants are playing catch-up with both the experience and software design.
