Battery electric vehicle

A battery electric vehicle configured to drive left and right front wheels using electricity stored in a battery, the battery electric vehicle comprising:

• a drive unit including a motor and a speed reducer configured to transmit rotation generated by the motor to a drive shaft;
• and
• a steering mechanism configured to control a steered angle of the front wheels in response to an operation of a steering wheel, wherein
• the battery is disposed between a driver's seat and a front passenger seat so as to extend from a front end to a rear end of a passenger compartment,
• the drive unit has a single-axis structure in which the speed reducer and the drive shaft are disposed on a rotation axis of the motor, and is disposed between the front wheels,
• the steering mechanism includes:
• a transmission unit disposed forward of the drive unit and configured to convert a movement of the steering wheel into a movement in a vehicle width direction;
• tie rods that are disposed at opposite ends of the transmission unit in the vehicle width direction and connect hub carriers of the respective front wheels to the transmission unit;
• an intermediate shaft configured to transmit a movement of the steering wheel to the transmission unit;
• kingpins that are pivot shafts of the hub carriers;
• and
• suspension arms each connecting a vehicle body and one of the kingpins to each other,
• each of the suspension arms is connected to the vehicle body by multiple bushings,
• the multiple bushings include a front bushing and a rear bushing disposed rearward of the front bushing, the front bushing having a greater rigidity than the rear bushing,
• each tie rod is connected to the corresponding hub carrier at a position forward of the corresponding kingpin, and
• the intermediate shaft extends in a space on side of the drive unit in the vehicle width direction to connect the steering wheel to the transmission unit.