Hyundai and Kia completely rethink the EV drive unit with Uni Wheel idea
Enlarge / This image shows the Uni Wheel concept in three different stages of articulation. (credit: Hyundai)
We like weird new engineering ideas here at Ars, and today we have a particularly interesting one in the realm of electric cars. It's called the Uni Wheel, and it has been designed by Hyundai and Kia as a way to revolutionize the layout of an EV powertrain to more efficiently use space. In fact, the automakers say it's not just for cars-the new drive system works with wheel sizes as small as four inches to as large as 25 inches.
For EV enthusiasts of a certain bent, there's something a little inefficient about the way virtually every EV powertrain is laid out.
Not the battery in the middle, though-while it's bulky and raises the overall height of EVs, it makes sense for weight distribution, although people working on structural carbon-fiber batteries have some different ideas about that. The problem is the EV drive unit, a bulky thing that contains the electric motor, some gearing, and usually some power electronics. These take up room between the axles and have to be packaged around.