BMW and DeepDrive test electric drives on the road
According to the car manufacturer, the driving characteristics of different drive system variants will be tested on the road in BMW Group models. However, BMW does not provide specific details about the drive variants or the vehicles used.
Conventional electric motors consist of a stator that moves either an internal or an external rotor. In DeepDrive’s double-rotor concept, the stator drives both an internal and an external rotor at the same time. It should enable extremely compact drives with low consumption and high torque density, as two electric motors are effectively combined into one.
Thanks to the compact design and low weight, the DeepDrive concept also enables in-wheel drive systems, i.e. wheel hub motors. However, BMW does not explicitly confirm that it is focussing on wheel hub drives. Instead, the press release states that the technology “can also be used in a traditional, centralised drive system, where a central motor block powers the vehicle.” These could thus be the different drive variants that BMW now wants to test on the road.
In principle, the car manufacturer is convinced by the drive technology and its partner DeepDrive. BMW says the “technology is already remarkably mature” and emphasises the top results on the test rig. “DeepDrive’s prototype parts largely exceeded our specifications,” says Karol Virsik, Head of Research Vehicle Concepts and Technologies at the BMW Group. “That’s really unusual at such an early stage and with a completely new technology.”
BMW – or more precisely the BMW Startup Garage – and DeepDrive have been working together since the IAA 2021. BMW was the first well-known partner for the drive startup from Munich and has held a stake in the company since 2023. DeepDrive now works with other manufacturers and major suppliers, such as Continental. “Collaborating with BMW gave us a springboard really early on,” said Felix Pörnbacher, co-founder and co-CEO of DeepDrive. “It helped us navigate the complex corporate world and meet and exceed the rigorous standards of the automotive industry. Our goal now is to get it integrated into a production model.”
The BMW Startup Garage uses the so-called venture client model to implement pioneering technologies from startups, “enhancing the BMW Group’s capabilities in innovation, sustainability and operational performance,” as the carmaker puts it. DeepDrive has developed an exciting vision for the electric drive of the future,” said Virsik. “The Startup Garage allows us to experiment with DeepDrive and work out what drives might look like in the generation after next.”
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