BMW will incorporate the principles of conventional automobiles into its electric vehicles, which will result in improved handling and increased range.
CarBuzz has discovered a brand new patent that BMW has submitted to the World Intellectual Property Office. The patent describes the design of a differential that could be included in future electric vehicles. This concept can be described easily: a device for controlling the individual wheel drive of electrified two-axle vehicles, particularly electric vehicles (EVs) with more than one drive motor per axle, like the quad-motor EV prototype being used to develop an electric M3.
BMW points out that current electric vehicles with one motor for each wheel of an axle can precisely generate torque per wheel. Electric torque vectoring is nothing new, but this is known as torque vectoring. However, EVs with two electric motors on a single axle typically have to sacrifice range in order to achieve their massive performance potential, and BMW wants to find a solution to this problem.
Because only one of the two electric motors would actually drive an axle, BMW proposes using sliding sleeves, magnetic couplings, or claw couplings to join and unjoin these motors as needed in order to reduce this enormous inefficiency.A Haldex-type (part-time AWD) disconnect that only powers the front axle until there is a loss of grip would disadvantage vehicles with electric drive on the rear axle, as BMW specifically mentions that it aims to find an "improvement in efficiency at low loads." Although BMW claims that rear-wheel drive is "more favorable in terms of driving dynamics," the conventional method of achieving efficiency goals typically involves disconnecting an entire axle, typically the front.
We learn a few things from this. First and foremost, this electrified vehicle-specific differential would most likely be used on an AWD vehicle with both axles powered.Second, an AWD vehicle with a front-wheel drive bias, like the M235i Gran Coupe, could be made to behave like a rear-driven vehicle, similar to the rear-biased M xDrive system in the BMW M5. Additionally, if maximizing efficiency is the primary objective, a hybrid vehicle may have AWD but no physical connection between the combustion engine in the front and the electrified rear axle.
Future electrified BMWs would be more efficient and capable of going further if they could only engage one motor on the axle when needed rather than having both motors active all the time.However, they would also offer outstanding driving dynamics thanks to even more reliable torque vectoring and the possibility of offering RWD-only as a drive mode.
BMW has said that its first truly M electric cars will be able to do things that no other cars can. However, the company has also said that it won't force electric cars on the M division until the technology is good enough to be called that.
It appears that BMW will fulfill its promise to produce electrified M products that are engaging and brilliant while still maximizing energy efficiency by incorporating a conventional type of differential into a future electric drivetrain. Whether you're an environmentalist or an enthusiast, this, along with a brand-new platform and solid-state batteries coming soon, should make for a compelling product.
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