Individual wheel drive
Individual-wheel drive is an automobile design in which the vehicle has an all-wheel drive powertrain that consists of multiple independent traction motors each supplying torque to a single drive wheel. The term was coined to identify electric vehicles with a four-motor layout, where each wheel is driven by an individual electric motor, as opposed to the differential drivetrain seen in conventional four wheel drive ICE vehicles and the dual-motor 4WD design seen in many plug-in electric vehicles.
Characteristics
These vehicles inherently have a range of characteristics built-in that can exceed the level of control commonly attributed to four-wheel drive vehicles or vehicles with extensive control systems. These characteristics may include:- Precise individual control of torque to each wheel
- Anti-skid
- If one motor fails, the other motors are powerful enough to drive the vehicle to the nearest repair shop
- Easier replacement of motors
- No – possibly long and heavy – drive shafts, no central gear box and no mechanical differentials or lockers, reducing vehicle weight, reducing or eliminating transmission losses and simplifying its construction
- On-the-spot, zero-radius turning like a tracked vehicle by rotating the drive-wheels in opposite directions
- On-the-fly switching between front-wheel, rear-wheel and all-wheel drive configurations
Hydraulic wheel drive
Hydraulic wheel drives share many of the same features as an electric wheel drive. They also lack the need for a central gear box, mechanical differentials, drive shafts, and provide on the fly switching between front, rear and all-wheel drive. Hydraulic individual wheel drives are standard in various machines, such as zero-turn mowers, multi one lifts / front end loaders, and forklifts. Hydraulic drives are primarily found in machines that serve uses which benefit from the ability to "turn on a dime", i.e. with an exceptionally short turning diameter, and move between forward and reverse modes without shifting gears, such as lawn mowers and loading equipment.Examples
Quad-motor
- Rivian R1S
- Rivian R1T
- Zeekr 001 FR
- Yangwang U8
- Yangwang U9
- Mengshi 917
- Lotus Evija
- Rimac Nevera
- Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Technology
- Lightyear 0
- Aspark Owl
- Jetour Shanhai T7
Tri-motor
- Tesla Cybertruck – The tri-motor version has individual motors on the rear wheels and a third motor shared between the front wheels.