{"id":80715,"date":"2025-02-25T09:03:49","date_gmt":"2025-02-25T14:03:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=80715"},"modified":"2025-02-25T09:03:49","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T14:03:49","slug":"1145830_in-wheel-motors-ev-cost-boost-range","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=80715","title":{"rendered":"Here&#8217;s how in-wheel motors could cut EV cost, boost range 20%"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul dir=\"ltr\">\n<li><strong>In-wheel motor maker Elaphe doesn&#8217;t see issues with durability or unsprung mass<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>&#8220;Vehicle-level&#8221; integration of tech could bring 20% cheaper vehicles, 20% efficiency boost<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Elaphe is targeting 95% efficiency on a battery-to-wheel basis by 2030<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">If you took a quick look at the display stand for Slovenia\u2019s Elaphe Propulsion Technologies at CES 2025 last month, you might have walked away with the message that the supplier of in-wheel motors has moved on from Aptera, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greencarreports.com\/news\/1136281_lightyear-claims-most-efficient-production-powertrain\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lightyear<\/a>, and Lordstown and is pitching its tech to cars that are fast, exotic, and expensive.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That much is true\u2014in the short term. Long-term, Elaphe has a grander global vision than just fitting into the performance picture.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, it sees performance vehicles as the perfect venue for showing tech-savvy car buyers what in-wheel motors can do. At CES, Elaphe revealed a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greencarreports.com\/news\/1145527_elaphe-created-in-wheel-motors-compatible-with-track-ready-brakes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">revised in-wheel motor design<\/a>, called <strong>Sonic 1<\/strong>, that\u2019s compatible with larger, track-ready brakes and high-performance vehicles.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive model, for instance, it could deliver \u201csomething extra,\u201d as brand and marketing architect Iztok Franko put it, at the front wheels without redoing the architecture of the vehicle\u2014as part of a hybrid performance upgrade.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"image_wrapper first_wrapper\" readability=\"7\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" name=\"tccimg_100957947_m\" title=\"Elaphe Sonic 1 in-wheel motor for performance cars. - CES 2025\" src=\"data:image\/png;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAD\/ACwAAAAAAQABAAACADs=\" alt=\"Elaphe Sonic 1 in-wheel motor for performance cars. - CES 2025\" width=\"640\" height=\"479\" class=\"first_image lazy\" data-width=\"1024\" data-height=\"767\" data-url=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/elaphe-sonic-1-in-wheel-motor-for-performance-cars--ces-2025_100957947_l.webp\" data-src-h=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/hug\/elaphe-sonic-1-in-wheel-motor-for-performance-cars--ces-2025_100957947_h.webp\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/elaphe-sonic-1-in-wheel-motor-for-performance-cars--ces-2025_100957947_l.webp\" data-src-l=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/elaphe-sonic-1-in-wheel-motor-for-performance-cars--ces-2025_100957947_l.webp\" data-src-m=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/med\/elaphe-sonic-1-in-wheel-motor-for-performance-cars--ces-2025_100957947_m.webp\" data-src-s=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/sml\/elaphe-sonic-1-in-wheel-motor-for-performance-cars--ces-2025_100957947_s.webp\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Elaphe Sonic 1 in-wheel motor for performance cars. &#8211; CES 2025<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Sonic 1 motors themselves, which it teases are likely to arrive in a <strong>production vehicle in 2026<\/strong>, can make up to 268 hp and 737 lb-ft each in their default form\u2014designed to fit a 21-inch front wheel, as shown. And to take it to a scorching extreme, they\u2019re being developed to fit up to 24-inch wheels, as Elaphe and its stand partner Italdesign teased in an updated Quintessenza supertruck concept, offering a hypothetical combined max of 1,600 kw (nearly 2,150 hp).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo now we remove the obstacle of reengineering the whole vehicle, it\u2019s easy to integrate, and you can upgrade the performance and upgrade the control of the car,\u201d said Franko.<\/p>\n<div class=\"image_wrapper\" readability=\"7\"><img decoding=\"async\" name=\"tccimg_100927722_m\" title=\"Italdesign Quintessenza concept\" src=\"data:image\/png;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAD\/ACwAAAAAAQABAAACADs=\" alt=\"Italdesign Quintessenza concept\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" data-width=\"1024\" data-height=\"576\" data-url=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/italdesign-quintessenza-concept_100927722_l.webp\" data-src-h=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/hug\/italdesign-quintessenza-concept_100927722_h.webp\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/italdesign-quintessenza-concept_100927722_l.webp\" data-src-l=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/italdesign-quintessenza-concept_100927722_l.webp\" data-src-m=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/med\/italdesign-quintessenza-concept_100927722_m.webp\" data-src-s=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/sml\/italdesign-quintessenza-concept_100927722_s.webp\" class=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Italdesign Quintessenza concept<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 dir=\"ltr\">In-wheel tech promises simplicity, efficiency<\/h2>\n<p>If you compare it to an e-axle with an inboard motor, there are no additional mechanical losses, because it\u2019s only one rotating part per motor. There are no additional bearings, gears, or added constant velocity joints, either.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a good start to thinking about what in-wheel tech can do, and why it\u2019s been popular for some vehicle types, like very large trucks and buses. But it\u2019s only scratching the surface for what Elaphe and the few other companies see as a bright future applying the tech to passenger vehicles.<\/p>\n<p>Green Car Reports caught up with Elaphe chief technology officer Gorazd Gotovac at CES about how its technology is evolving and found a company that sees in-wheel tech as a key part in the long-term future of the car.<\/p>\n<p>Gotovac emphasized to Green Car Reports that over many years and iterations, the company has worked to fine-tune the design through inverter control and management of second-order effects in the physics of the magnetic field. Partly through that it\u2019s achieved a 10% efficiency boost versus the previous generation of its motors, from fourth to its <strong>current fifth generation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"image_wrapper\" readability=\"7\"><img decoding=\"async\" name=\"tccimg_100845651_m\" title=\"Elaphe in-wheel motor for Lightyear 0\" src=\"data:image\/png;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAD\/ACwAAAAAAQABAAACADs=\" alt=\"Elaphe in-wheel motor for Lightyear 0\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" data-width=\"1024\" data-height=\"682\" data-url=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/elaphe-in-wheel-motor-for-lightyear-0_100845651_l.jpg\" data-src-h=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/hug\/elaphe-in-wheel-motor-for-lightyear-0_100845651_h.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/elaphe-in-wheel-motor-for-lightyear-0_100845651_l.jpg\" data-src-l=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/elaphe-in-wheel-motor-for-lightyear-0_100845651_l.jpg\" data-src-m=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/med\/elaphe-in-wheel-motor-for-lightyear-0_100845651_m.jpg\" data-src-s=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/sml\/elaphe-in-wheel-motor-for-lightyear-0_100845651_s.jpg\" class=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Elaphe in-wheel motor for Lightyear 0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>By the time Elaphe gets to production in high volume, which it sees as around 2030, it\u2019s <strong>targeting a 95% efficiency<\/strong>, on a battery-to-wheel basis, based on highway driving.<\/p>\n<p>Its design uses permanent magnets, but Gotovac says that the company has already confirmed that by 2030 it will be able to bypass the use of heavy rare-earth materials, keeping to lighter rare-earths instead and reducing the environmental footprint.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe believe that once in-wheel motors are adopted there will also be <strong>versions without permanent magnets<\/strong> on the low end of the market,\u201d he added. \u201cBut it will bring some weight penalty.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 dir=\"ltr\">Unsprung mass isn\u2019t such a big deal<\/h2>\n<p>In-wheel motors increase the amount of unsprung mass (all the mass not supported by the suspension), which auto engineers and insiders routinely claim makes ride and handling much harder to tune and complicates safety.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s simply not as significant of an issue as some vehicle engineers paint it to be, according to CTO Gotovac. That\u2019s because wheels and tires, in combination, are quite heavy; add an in-wheel motor and you\u2019re not at all doubling or tripling the weight, he explained to Green Car Reports. You\u2019re boosting it by about 30% when figuring in the brakes and all the ancillary pieces. Factor in items that are redundant for in-wheel motors and the gain in unsprung mass can be as little as <strong>35 pounds per wheel<\/strong> versus an inboard motor setup.<\/p>\n<p>And adding in-wheel motors at the front wheels is an easier way to add hybrid propulsion while maintaining safety, argued Gotovac. \u201cIf you have a car which has been engineered and crash-tested and you want to hybridize it, you have to redo all the crash-testing,\u201d he said. \u201cBut if you put in-wheel motors in, you don\u2019t have to redo all the crash-testing, because actually the structure in front, it will be the same\u2026and if you\u2019ve done the engineering right the wheels are just going to hold onto the rest of the structure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elaphe\u2019s units are designed to survive minor collisions, and it means that the body doesn\u2019t need a crash structure designed around incompressible powertrain pieces.<\/p>\n<div class=\"image_wrapper\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" name=\"tccimg_100857105_m\" title=\"Lordstown Endurance\" src=\"data:image\/png;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAD\/ACwAAAAAAQABAAACADs=\" alt=\"Lordstown Endurance\" width=\"640\" height=\"414\" data-width=\"1024\" data-height=\"662\" data-url=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/lordstown-endurance_100857105_l.jpg\" data-src-h=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/hug\/lordstown-endurance_100857105_h.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/lordstown-endurance_100857105_l.jpg\" data-src-l=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/lordstown-endurance_100857105_l.jpg\" data-src-m=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/med\/lordstown-endurance_100857105_m.jpg\" data-src-s=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/sml\/lordstown-endurance_100857105_s.jpg\" class=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Lordstown Endurance<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 dir=\"ltr\">Durability work already done on in-wheel motors?<\/h2>\n<p>What makes in-wheel motors fundamentally different than existing inboard motors is that the motor\u2019s rotor spins directly with the wheel and its stator acts as the hub. Because of this, they\u2019re subject to higher levels of vibration and road shocks, but Elaphe\u2019s Gotovac insists that durability is no longer a concern. In recent years it has pushed its full validation cycle for the vehicle lifetime of its motors out to <strong>300,000 miles<\/strong>, from the previous 150,000 miles.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Lordstown Motors would have provided that real-world evidence of durability for Elaphe, in its Ohio-built <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greencarreports.com\/news\/1128135_lordstown-electric-pickup-will-use-elaphe-in-wheel-motors-made-in-house\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lordstown Endurance electric pickup<\/a>, using U.S.-built motors from the Slovenian company\u2014if it weren\u2019t for Lordstown\u2019s demise in June 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As Gotovac emphasized, the design of the motor that Elaphe still follows was fully validated in the Endurance, but it was a different application as Elaphe itself didn\u2019t have anything to do with the inverters, which allow a finer level of motor control. In a drive of the Lordstown Endurance, Green Car Reports didn\u2019t have any issue with motor response, ride, or handling of the electric truck.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"image_wrapper\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" name=\"tccimg_100867707_m\" title=\"2023 Lordstown Endurance\" src=\"data:image\/png;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAD\/ACwAAAAAAQABAAACADs=\" alt=\"2023 Lordstown Endurance\" width=\"640\" height=\"428\" data-width=\"1024\" data-height=\"685\" data-url=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/lordstown-endurance_100867707_l.jpg\" data-src-h=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/hug\/lordstown-endurance_100867707_h.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/lordstown-endurance_100867707_l.jpg\" data-src-l=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/lordstown-endurance_100867707_l.jpg\" data-src-m=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/med\/lordstown-endurance_100867707_m.jpg\" data-src-s=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/sml\/lordstown-endurance_100867707_s.jpg\" class=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>2023 Lordstown Endurance<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>One of Ford\u2019s top EV executives, Darren Palmer, told Green Car Reports in 2021 that it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greencarreports.com\/news\/1132317_here-s-why-ford-nixed-in-wheel-motors-in-f-150-lightning-electric-truck\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">nixed in-wheel motors<\/a> as a possibility in the F-150 Lightning electric truck over concerns about durability. And <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greencarreports.com\/news\/1144888_aptera-finally-built-a-production-intent-working-3-wheel-ev\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Aptera dropped in-wheel motors<\/a> for its production-bound three-wheeler in what appeared to be an issue not with any of those concerns but with cost.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>At present, there are some, but relatively few, examples of mainstream models that offer these motor types. China\u2019s Dongfeng, in 2023, claimed to be building the world\u2019s first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greencarreports.com\/news\/1139147_dongfeng-claims-world-s-first-passenger-cars-with-in-wheel-motors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">passenger car with in-wheel motors<\/a>\u2014powering the rear wheels in that case, supplied by Protean Electric.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, in-wheel motors continue to look like the future, albeit a future without any significant present-day commitment\u2014and plenty of false starts. Perhaps backing up Elaphe\u2019s claims that they\u2019re the best solution for the future, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greencarreports.com\/news\/1145061_hyundai-in-wheel-electric-motor-patent\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hyundai<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greencarreports.com\/news\/1143910_toyota-developing-in-wheel-electric-motors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Toyota<\/a> have continued to develop their own in-wheel motors, or at least remain involved in their development.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"image_wrapper\" readability=\"7\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" name=\"tccimg_100957945_m\" title=\"Lightyear with Elaphe motors\" src=\"data:image\/png;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAD\/ACwAAAAAAQABAAACADs=\" alt=\"Lightyear with Elaphe motors\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" data-width=\"1024\" data-height=\"576\" data-url=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/lightyear-with-elaphe-motors_100957945_l.webp\" data-src-h=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/hug\/lightyear-with-elaphe-motors_100957945_h.webp\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/lightyear-with-elaphe-motors_100957945_l.webp\" data-src-l=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/lightyear-with-elaphe-motors_100957945_l.webp\" data-src-m=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/med\/lightyear-with-elaphe-motors_100957945_m.webp\" data-src-s=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/sml\/lightyear-with-elaphe-motors_100957945_s.webp\" class=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Lightyear with Elaphe motors<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 dir=\"ltr\">In-wheel motors remain mass-market-bound<\/h2>\n<p>As Elaphe\u2019s Gotovac explained to Green Car Reports at CES, the company sees niche high-performance applications like Sonic 1 as an important step in getting the word out about in-wheel motor technology and how it can perform to extremes. But it has bigger-picture ambitions at the affordable end of the market.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">This is the fifth generation of Elaphe\u2019s motors and it\u2019s been simultaneously working toward higher power density and better performance while also keeping an eye on how the tech can truly be applied to the mass market.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Gotovac said that while selling automakers on the idea of in-wheel motors for mass-market EVs has proven challenging, the technology can potentially pay much greater dividends.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are able to develop this power-dense design that we have into something that is cost-effective for a car that doesn\u2019t have to be as powerful,\u201d he explained. \u201cIf you\u2019re using less material to get more power out of it, and if you\u2019re not using exotic materials, then your potential for cost is better than the previous generation.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"image_wrapper\" readability=\"7\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" name=\"tccimg_100957946_m\" title=\"Aptera with Elaphe motors\" src=\"data:image\/png;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAD\/ACwAAAAAAQABAAACADs=\" alt=\"Aptera with Elaphe motors\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" data-width=\"1024\" data-height=\"576\" data-url=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/aptera-with-elaphe-motors_100957946_l.webp\" data-src-h=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/hug\/aptera-with-elaphe-motors_100957946_h.webp\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/aptera-with-elaphe-motors_100957946_l.webp\" data-src-l=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/aptera-with-elaphe-motors_100957946_l.webp\" data-src-m=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/med\/aptera-with-elaphe-motors_100957946_m.webp\" data-src-s=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/sml\/aptera-with-elaphe-motors_100957946_s.webp\" class=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Aptera with Elaphe motors<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 dir=\"ltr\">In-wheel motor potential: Ride, handling, identity<\/h2>\n<p>Elaphe\u2019s Sonic 1 motor system is designed to use an inverter from its official partner McLaren Applied Technologies, with software developed with that firm\u2014and the key to some of those special control strategies is the software.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But Elaphe emphasizes that the potential for in-wheel motor tech rests on much more than power delivery. Once you have it at each wheel, all sorts of opportunities arise for the motors to take an active role in: ride, handling, stability control, and even communication to the driver.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"image_wrapper\" readability=\"7\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" name=\"tccimg_100957946_m\" title=\"Aptera with Elaphe motors\" src=\"data:image\/png;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAD\/ACwAAAAAAQABAAACADs=\" alt=\"Aptera with Elaphe motors\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" data-width=\"1024\" data-height=\"576\" data-url=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/aptera-with-elaphe-motors_100957946_l.webp\" data-src-h=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/hug\/aptera-with-elaphe-motors_100957946_h.webp\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/aptera-with-elaphe-motors_100957946_l.webp\" data-src-l=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/aptera-with-elaphe-motors_100957946_l.webp\" data-src-m=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/med\/aptera-with-elaphe-motors_100957946_m.webp\" data-src-s=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/sml\/aptera-with-elaphe-motors_100957946_s.webp\" class=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Aptera with Elaphe motors<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Fundamentally, one of the key advantages of Elaphe\u2019s in-wheel motor technology amounts to this, Gotovac explained: It\u2019s capable of blipping torque delivery\u2014up to its peak torque delivery\u2014almost instantaneously, more precisely than an automaker could with brakes, and in a more extreme way than automakers would ever dare with an inboard motor because of driveshafts and CV joints.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Allowing roll control to be handled by the in-wheel motor system, Gotovac says, would allow automakers to eliminate physical roll bars and their constraints. If you have a motor at each corner, coordinated by a central computer, it\u2019s like having \u201cjust one brake in the middle\u2026you feel very safe when you get on ice,\u201d Gotovac explained, or the motors can squeeze at varying levels with just the right timing so as to provide roll control.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Elaphe is currently working toward a very quick 10-kHz modulation cycle and a reaction time of just <strong>4 milliseconds for full torque delivery<\/strong> of its motors. It takes the quickest inboard motor systems 20 times as long to respond, Gotovac claimed, and even then they won\u2019t be able to provide close to full torque. \u201cSo that means we really can control with very high bandwidth, a lot of force,\u201d he said, inserting with a smirk: \u201cSo we can get very interesting effects.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Those effects can be quite subtle, he says\u2014like engineering some vibration or tonality back into the driving experience. \u201cWe can generate vibration so that you can get a feeling in the car which is engineered but still authentic,\u201d he said, or have the motors generate safety alerts, play songs, or emulate combustion engines\u2014serving a purpose not unlike what Stellantis has engineered for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greencarreports.com\/news\/1145190_odge-charger-daytona-ev-fratzonic-how-it-works\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dodge Charger Daytona EV<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>All of those are things you can\u2019t do with an inboard-motor EV because there are too many other factors with the driveshafts and suspension, and concerns over durability or the harmonics of the gear system.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"image_wrapper\" readability=\"7\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" name=\"tccimg_100952456_m\" title=\"2024 Dodge Charger Daytona\" src=\"data:image\/png;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAD\/ACwAAAAAAQABAAACADs=\" alt=\"2024 Dodge Charger Daytona\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" data-width=\"1024\" data-height=\"682\" data-url=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/2024-dodge-charger_100952456_l.webp\" data-src-h=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/hug\/2024-dodge-charger_100952456_h.webp\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/2024-dodge-charger_100952456_l.webp\" data-src-l=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/2024-dodge-charger_100952456_l.webp\" data-src-m=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/med\/2024-dodge-charger_100952456_m.webp\" data-src-s=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/sml\/2024-dodge-charger_100952456_s.webp\" class=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>2024 Dodge Charger Daytona<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 dir=\"ltr\">The future: EVs built on platforms for in-wheel motors<\/h2>\n<p>None of this tech will be fully realized, Gotovac admits, until we get a new kind of EV, conceived from the start for in-wheel motors. Enabling their potential is a \u201cvehicle-level issue,\u201d he says, and in-wheel motors will only make the vehicle much more efficient if it\u2019s engineered from the ground up for the tech.<\/p>\n<p>If automakers are up for playing this long game with Elaphe, it believes it can <strong>lower overall vehicle cost by 20%<\/strong> and <strong>boost range and efficiency by 20%<\/strong>\u2014including whole-vehicle design, aerodynamics, chassis controls, and the weight of the car. \u201cThat\u2019s where the big potential lies,\u201d Gotovac said.<\/p>\n<p>No major automaker has signed up yet. And what exactly keeps automakers from committing to in-wheel motors on big, mass-market, affordable EV projects sounds like a classic chicken-or-egg dilemma.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"image_wrapper\" readability=\"7\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" name=\"tccimg_100948885_m\" title=\"Rivian and Volkswagen Group electrical architecture and software stack\" src=\"data:image\/png;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAD\/ACwAAAAAAQABAAACADs=\" alt=\"Rivian and Volkswagen Group electrical architecture and software stack\" width=\"640\" height=\"249\" data-width=\"1024\" data-height=\"399\" data-url=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/rivian-and-volkswagen-group-electrical-architecture-and-software-stack_100948885_l.webp\" data-src-h=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/hug\/rivian-and-volkswagen-group-electrical-architecture-and-software-stack_100948885_h.webp\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/rivian-and-volkswagen-group-electrical-architecture-and-software-stack_100948885_l.webp\" data-src-l=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/lrg\/rivian-and-volkswagen-group-electrical-architecture-and-software-stack_100948885_l.webp\" data-src-m=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/med\/rivian-and-volkswagen-group-electrical-architecture-and-software-stack_100948885_m.webp\" data-src-s=\"https:\/\/images.hgmsites.net\/sml\/rivian-and-volkswagen-group-electrical-architecture-and-software-stack_100948885_s.webp\" class=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Rivian and Volkswagen Group electrical architecture and software stack<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Getting to the 20% efficiency boost requires a big investment and commitment that goes beyond the supplier, lamented Gotovac, including an electrical architecture intended to accommodate it. \u201cOn the component level we can demonstrate a little bit of efficiency improvement, but not enough for them to make a $5 billion investment,\u201d he added, summing up the predicament.<\/p>\n<p>Gotovac asked rhetorically: \u201cWhat is the step in between that gets them to believe in this system, so that they engineer that new platform? That\u2019s the thing\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s what drew my attention back to the Sonic 1 motor unit on the pedestal, ready in the meantime to create an Italian exotic that, perhaps, the tech-savvy will recognize for all its firsts.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In-wheel motor maker Elaphe doesn&#8217;t see issues with durability or unsprung mass &#8220;Vehicle-level&#8221; integration of tech could bring 20% cheaper vehicles, 20% efficiency boost Elaphe is targeting 95% efficiency on a battery-to-wheel basis by 2030 If you took a quick look at the display stand for Slovenia\u2019s Elaphe Propulsion Technologies at CES 2025 last month, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8313,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-80715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-e-cars"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=80715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=80715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=80715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=80715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}