March 23, 2023

Auto News

Hyundai Mobis tests all-directional electric vehicles

South Korea's automotive parts maker Hyundai Mobis announced it has begun testing an all-directional drive system specifically for electric vehicles.

The Seoul-based company said Sunday the new system, embedded into four-wheel independent-drive electric cars, features in-wheel motors.

The result is that the four wheels move independently, enabling crab-like shifts for parallel parking and pivot steering for turning around in very narrow spaces.

Additionally, the in-wheel motor will contribute to increasing the range of electric cars by around 20%, thanks to the more efficient use of the wheels, compared to conventional cars, the auto maker said.

The company, which has been researching in-wheel motor drive since 2010, is conducting these tests in conjunction with its parent company, Hyundai Motor.

It was late last year that Hyundai Mobis first announced the development of a 90-degree rotating wheel, which allows for lateral parking and sideways movement. Now the technology has been applied to EVs.

Industry experts say in-wheel motor drives and 90-degree rotating wheels have been considered the final pieces to the making of electrified vehicles.

Top electric cars to check out in 2023

Electric vehicles, or EVs, had their best-selling year in 2022. The experts at Edmunds choose five of the most intriguing new EVs, sorted by price, rolling into dealerships this year.

2024 CHEVROLET EQUINOX EV Chevrolet will launch two electric SUVs with familiar names: the Blazer EV and the Equinox EV. Of the two, the smaller Equinox could be the more significant simply by virtue of its price; Chevrolet estimates it will start around $30,000. That undercuts all of its rivals and is not much more than the gas-powered Equinox, which has nothing in common but size.

2023 NISSAN ARIYA Many are familiar with the Nissan Leaf, one of the first mass-produced electric vehicles. Now Nissan is adding to its portfolio with the Ariya. It's a compact electric SUV that's about the size of the electric Ford Mustang Mach-E and Volkswagen ID.4.

2023 HYUNDAI IONIQ 6 The Ioniq 6 will undoubtedly stand out from everything else on the road when it hits the streets later this year. It's an electric sedan from Hyundai that sports a futuristic, low-slung design. Unlike most electric vehicles that are SUVs, the Ioniq 6 is one of the few non-luxury electric sedans that will compete with the Tesla Model 3.

2023 MERCEDES EQE SUV The EQE SUV is one of Mercedes' latest all-electric models. It's based on Mercedes' EQE sedan and is about the size of the gas-powered GLE SUV. The EQE SUV is smaller than the EQS SUV, and when it hits dealerships, it will compete with the Audi e-tron and BMW iX.

2023 BMW i7 The large and luxurious BMW i7 is the all-electric equivalent to the completely redesigned 7 Series sedan. The brand's most expensive electric car goes toe-to-toe with its Mercedes equivalent, the EQS sedan, and the Tesla Model S.

Geared Up Gadgets

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Thanks for reading,

The Editor

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