Basics of Electromobility
Drive train configurations
An electric vehicle is driven by at least one electric drive motor. It can be configured as a four-wheel drive vehicle
or with one drive axle. Further hybrid variants are also possible. These are described in SSP450 “The Touareg
Hybrid”.
The two main concepts are presented in the following section.
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drive with in-wheel motors
drive with just one electric drive motor in the central drive train
Drive with in-wheel motors
The following table provides an overview of the different drive train configurations with in-wheel motors.
Front-axle drive
Rear-axle drive
Four-wheel drive
2 in-wheel motors
2 in-wheel motors
4 in-wheel motors
Design
Features
The wheels are connected directly to the in-wheel
motors. Today, the in-wheel concept is used for
electric scooters, electric bicycles and electrical driven
wheel chairs.
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No drive shafts are required
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No differential gearbox required
Disadvantages
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The unsprung masses in the wheel are greater
compared with the wheels on a conventional
vehicle.
Advantages
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High mass of driven components (inertia and
torque of whole vehicle affected)
Independent vehicle concept required
Control is complex. Both electric motors need to
run synchronously.
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Four-wheel drive technically possible.
The output axles of the in-wheel motors are
directly on the wheel.
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High efficiency of drive because there are hardly
any mechanical losses.
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The combination with a hydraulic friction brake is
still necessary at present.
Possibility of regenerative braking.
There is limited space on the wheel.
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