Wheel hub motors are now widespread in electric single-track vehicles. In the automobile industry, however, not. Hitachi wants to change that.
Astemo - a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Hitachi - has a wheel hub motor for E-cars presented, which, in addition to the electric motor, also integrates brakes, inverters and cooling in one component. The direct drive with an output of up to 60 kW / 82 PS is designed for a voltage of 420 volts and up to 280 amperes. With the wheel hub motor, 2WD and 4WD drives could be represented. The maximum system output can therefore add up to 240 kW / 326 PS and over 3.800 Newton meters of torque.
Optimized by Hitachi
Thanks to the integration of the brakes, the direct drive should be easy to fit into existing chassis designs and wheel suspensions. However, wheels must be at least 19 inches tall. The normally high increase in unsprung masses in wheel hub drives should in this case be comparatively low thanks to a lightweight design with high power density. Astemo also promises high efficiency, which generates 30 percent less energy loss compared to classic electric drives. Accordingly, traction batteries in the vehicles could be smaller for the same range potential. It has not yet been revealed whether and when the technology could be used in a production vehicle.