A couple of weeks ago, BMW took just about everyone by surprise when a mysterious prototype was caught by car paparazzi. It had a sleek coupe shape with obvious Neue Klasse design cues. Even more intriguing were the wheels because there were no visible brake calipers. That sparked speculation about the potential use of in-wheel hub motors.
While that’s still up for debate, there’s some interesting and directly related news from the German luxury brand. BMW Startup Garage, an entity that helps new businesses get off the ground, is working with DeepDrive to start road tests of “a revolutionary electric motor.” It has already been evaluated on a test rig and is about to be installed in an actual car to be tested on the road. But what if this has already happened? The spy shots seem to suggest that.
DeepDrive’s dual-rotor technology basically merges two electric motors into a single unit. The newly developed stator drives both internal and external rotors. A regular electric motor moves either the internal or external rotor. The new setup improves packaging since it’s lighter and smaller. The hardware has wider applicability since it can be used for an in-wheel drive system.
The automaker is encouraging DeepDrive to improve this technology by investing $16.1 million through BMW i Ventures. There are other benefits worth mentioning since the setup is more energy-efficient and less costly to manufacture. It’s also highly scalable by being compatible with a wide array of models.
According to Automotive News Europe, small-scale production is expected to start in 2026. Large-scale production is programmed to kick off in 2028 or 2029 when DeepDrive projects it will be a profitable business. Co-CEO Felix Poernbacher says the new hardware is approximately 20% cheaper than the usual electric motor + gearbox combo. It’s partially thanks to the thinner magnets that also shave off roughly 40% of weight. According to the developers, the in-wheel motor can enable an EV to cover more than 500 miles (800 kilometers) on a single charge.
BMW is not the only OEM working with DeepDrive as the Munich-based startup says it’s collaborating with several other big names in the automotive industry, including Continental.
Source: BMW
