This Hub Motor Concept Does Much More than Drive the Wheels
- German supplier Continental says it is close to production for wheel hub motors that integrate braking, whether the customer wants disc or drums, or hydraulic or dry brake-by-wire.
- Conti will package its brake components with a patented dual-rotor, radial-flux motor, supplied by DeepDrive, to drive the wheels.
- The technology will be road-ready soon, the partners say, and a contract is close to being signed with a European automaker for production to begin in 2028.
The concept of an electric motor packaged within the wheel hub of a battery-electric vehicle—instead of positioned conventionally under the hood in place of an internal-combustion engine—is not new. Ferdinand Porsche showcased the technology more than 120 years ago.
What is new, however, is word that longtime German automotive supplier Continental is on the cusp of landing a contract to not only manufacture this technology for a production vehicle but to take a further step and integrate braking elements with each motor at each hub.
Beyond the packaging benefits and the reduction in overall mass, Conti says this Drive-Brake Unit approach can boost vehicle efficiency and allow for a smaller battery, perhaps even at the same price as packaging an EV the conventional way, while integrating all-wheel drive and torque vectoring.
Continental has a long history building and selling automotive components such as brakes and electronics (and Continental tires, too), so the hydraulic braking side of this new Drive-Brake Unit comes from Conti while the propulsion components come from another German company.
Based in Munich, motor producer DeepDrive partnered with Conti to develop a compact wheel hub drive that is efficient, powerful, good for all light vehicles, and cost-effective in production, the companies say. On a system basis, the target is to match the price of conventional motors and brakes for today’s EVs.
As a startup, DeepDrive is only three years old, but it brings innovative technology: a patented dual-rotor, radial-flux motor that can be packaged as a central drive unit—which is common today—or as a wheel hub drive in series production vehicles.
Conti says the Drive Brake Unit enables groundbreaking steering and chassis control.
Conti engineers say the technology will be road-ready with state-of-the-art brake technology soon, and a contract is very close to being signed with a European automaker for production to begin in 2028.
Whether Continental will be first to market with the technology remains to be seen, as ZF, ADVICS and others surely are working in a similar direction.
While this first application will rely on hydraulic braking, the company says the technology works with dry brake-by-wire systems as well, whether the automaker wants to use drum or disc brakes.
You might think packaging would be tight for both a motor and braking components at each hub, but Continental actually says a further step is possible to also integrate chassis components, such as air suspension hardware, in a compact unit directly on the wheel.
Conti handles the overall integration of DeepDrive’s technology and the industrialization of the corner module.
And while the auto industry has been migrating from drum to disc brakes for decades, drum brakes are actually experiencing a renaissance in the modern EV era because they are less prone to corrosion (but do tend to overheat moreso than disc brakes).
Exploded view of Continental’s Drive Brake Unit with patented dual-rotor, radial-flux motor
“With EVs, electric motors handle a lot of deceleration,” Peter Olejnik, head of innovation for chassis systems for Conti North America, tells Autoweek during the supplier’s recent tech expo.
“You lift off the accelerator and the motor is no longer creating energy but functioning as a generator, allowing energy to be captured and sent back to the battery through regenerative braking,” he says.
So friction braking is only used when absolutely needed in today’s EVs, which means sometimes the rear brakes are barely used at all.
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“So you get corrosion on rear disc brakes, and you need an expensive coating on disc brakes to stave off that corrosion,” Olejnik says.
Meanwhile, drum brakes are better protected from the environment, less expensive, and don’t rust out as quickly, he says. For this reason, Conti will begin producing drum brakes for a battery-electric truck in 2026.
Do you think a wheel hub motor with integrated braking is a smart technology for next-generation EVs? Please comment below.
