Abstract: An electric vehicle includes: a frame with two spaced-apart longitudinal members having an upper transversely oriented wall member that is situated a vertical distance Hu from a bottom plane and a lower transversely oriented wall member that is situated near the bottom plane, and a battery pack with an array of battery cells defining an array top surface, an array bottom surface and an array side surface. A casing top plate contacts the array top surface, a casing bottom plate contacting the array bottom surface and a casing side wall, connected to the top and bottom plates and contacting the array side surface. The casing top plate is situated a vertical distance Hct from the bottom plane that substantially corresponds with the distance Hu. The battery pack includes a longitudinal impact absorption structure.