Development of Integrated In-Wheel Unit Including eMotor and CVT Transmission

The challenge

In-wheel motor integration is constrained by geometry in ways that most electric drive architectures are not. The design had to accommodate conventional disc brakes and preserve suspension attachment points. This immediately restricts the motor geometries that are viable. Reaching a technically credible answer required evaluating actual architectures against those constraints, not working from general feasibility assumptions.

PTL’s role

PTL carried out structured concept studies to identify motor architectures that could work within the packaging constraints, assessing electromagnetic, thermal and mechanical considerations holistically rather than in sequentially. The broader electrical systems work covered control boards, HMIs, schematic capture, component selection, PCB layout and assembly, and wider systems architecture for electrified powertrain and vehicle integration. These are areas where decisions made at the concept stage directly determine what is achievable in the detailed design phase.

Why it mattered

The practical value of concept work is as much in what it rules out as what it identifies. Knowing which motor architectures are incompatible with the packaging constraints, and understanding why, allows the programme to focus detailed design effort on feasible solutions. Without that early structured assessment, the challenges tend to be discovered in the detailed design phase rather than resolved at concept stage. The later issues are discovered, the more expensive they are to resolve. PTL’s ability to connect mobility system thinking with precision control and electronics capability made it possible to determine the correct technical approach, without treating the packaging and control problems as separate workstreams.