Been hearing about 48V systems for years now, about time to move forward... the small bits don't care, it's the power hogs that need "lots" of power that could benefit.
I do recall reading on EDN (I think) that years ago though GM had an internal specification of "thou shalt not design a harness with less than 22g wire" or something to that effect. Problems with pulling wire through whatever, or working with it. Makes me wonder if debug work might get harder.
48V, I suspect that might tingle if you have wet fingers. IIRC it's just below where regulatory standards change and thicker insulation, more user protection, more whatever has to be used.
Been a lot of inertia for 12V systems, but as pointed out, everything has more or less been reworked since the days of design once, use that part across every vehicle that an OEM makes (cig lighter, light bulb, power seat motor). I bet the worst bit now would be finding 48V batteries.
Actually... I wonder if 48V is the right number, why not 37V or 44V instead? why use "heavy" lead acid when lithium could be used instead? [Not that I'd want to pay for when those batteries wear out, just wondering, why an OEM wouldn't think about that. I'm still smarting over the undersized battery in my Honda.]