THE “UNI WHEEL” DRIVE SYSTEM FROM HYUNDAI AND KIA: A REVOLUTION FOR EVs

By Piero Facchin

Hyundai Motor and Kia Corporation recently presented a potentially revolutionary approach to electric vehicle drivetrain design at a Uni Wheel Tech Day event in Seoul. The Universal Wheel Drive system, or “Uni Wheel” for short, moves major components to the wheel hub, creating additional space in the passenger compartment of a given vehicle.

As the global mobility market slowly but surely evolves towards a promising all-electric future, many of the necessary mechanical components and design techniques have changed and, in many cases, been minimized. However, one key element, derived from internal combustion vehicles (ICE), has remained relatively unchanged in the transition to electric vehicles: the transmission.

The power created in internal combustion engine vehicles is transmitted from the engine via the transmission, then to the wheels via driveshafts and CV joints. In EVs, the engine and transmission are replaced by a motor and gearbox, but the method of transmitting power to the wheels is still the same.

Electric motors are more compact and, when combined with electric vehicle flatbeds, can create much more interior space in the same vehicle footprint as ICE vehicles. However, these engines still take up space at the front and/or rear of an EV.

The technology also opens the door to greater design opportunities for unconventional seating configurations in the cabin, which could prove fruitful as we continue to develop and integrate more autonomous driving technologies into our vehicles.

In the future, Hyundai and Kia say they plan to continue perfecting the Uni Wheel system so that tomorrow’s customers can experience mobility in a “completely different and new way.” The timetable for integrating this system into a real electric vehicle remains uncertain at this stage, but Kia and Hyundai Motor say they have already applied for eight patents related to the technology in South Korea, the USA and Europe.