Auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis, which is part of Hyundai Motor, unveiled modular wheel motors for electric vehicles at the recent CES-2023 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The development is called e-Corner, it combines an electric motor, a shock absorber, electric brakes and a swivel mechanism (also on wires).
e-Croner was first shown back in 2018, but now it was demonstrated in a more visual way as part of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 EV electric car, which, thanks to such a system, became fully steerable and learned to turn on the spot - for this, the front and rear wheels are turned in mutually opposite directions by an angle up to 45 degrees, in this scheme the direction of the front left and rear right, front right and rear left coincides. In one direction, all wheels can be turned out at an angle of up to 90 degrees.
Hyundai Mobis did not provide other technical details about the e-Corner. The most critical issue for motor wheels is their weight. Large unsprung masses wear out the suspension at an accelerated rate. In the development of e-Corner, the motors built into the wheels are complemented by a swivel mechanism, which means they are even heavier.
Obviously, while e-Corner is primarily a demonstrator of the engineering competencies of Hyundai Mobis.
Hyundai showed Ioniq 5 capable of turning on the spot
