What advantages will the combination of wheel hub motor technology and wire controlled steering technology bring?

The combination of wheel hub motor technology and wire controlled steering technology is the core combination of new energy vehicle chassis wire control and intelligence. The two completely break free from the constraints of traditional mechanical transmission/connection from the dimensions of power output and steering control, achieving a disruptive reconstruction of the chassis architecture. It not only greatly improves the vehicle's handling, flexibility, and energy efficiency, but also provides underlying technical support for advanced intelligent driving and personalized driving experience. The core advantages are concentrated in five dimensions: handling performance, space utilization, energy efficiency performance, intelligent adaptation, and safety redundancy, as follows: 1、 Drive to the limit and achieve disruptive driving function This is the core advantage of combining the two, and it is also a driving experience that traditional fuel vehicles/conventional new energy vehicles cannot achieve. Four wheel independent control, precise torque/steering coordination: The wheel hub motor can independently output power, adjust torque, and even recover energy for each wheel, while the wire controlled steering can accurately control the steering angle of the left and right wheels (without mechanical steering column restrictions, the steering ratio can be infinitely adjusted). The ECU can match the combination of "single wheel power+single wheel steering" in real time according to road conditions, such as reducing torque on the inner wheel and increasing torque on the outer wheel when turning, while cooperating with the precise angle of wire controlled steering to significantly reduce understeer/oversteer, improve cornering stability, and significantly enhance grip and anti slip ability on wet, icy and snowy roads. Realize functions such as turning in place and lateral translation (crab walking): Line controlled steering allows the left and right wheels to turn in the opposite direction (such as left front wheel turning left, right front wheel turning right), and with the independent forward and reverse rotation of the wheel hub motor, it can directly achieve a 360 ° turning in place (with a turning radius of 0), maximizing passability in narrow parking spaces, alleys, and other scenarios; At the same time, it can achieve lateral translation (crab mode), and there is no need to move the car forward or backward when parking sideways. It can directly enter the parking space in parallel, completely solving the parking problem. The steering ratio is infinitely adjustable and suitable for all vehicle speed scenarios: the wire controlled steering itself supports "low-speed small steering ratio (lighter steering direction, larger angle), high-speed large steering ratio (more stable steering direction, avoiding excessive control)", combined with the power speed adjustment of the wheel hub motor. It is lightweight and flexible when moving at low speeds, precise steering and stable power when driving at high speeds, completely breaking away from the fixed steering ratio limitation of traditional mechanical steering. 2、 Chassis architecture reconstruction to maximize the release of interior/underbody space Both are technologies that remove mechanical connections, and when combined, they can completely simplify the core mechanical structure of traditional chassis, achieving efficient use of space, which is also one of the core requirements pursued by new energy vehicles. Eliminating a large number of mechanical components, the chassis structure is extremely simplified: the wheel hub motor integrates power directly into the wheels, eliminating traditional power transmission components such as the engine, gearbox, transmission shaft, differential, etc; Wire controlled steering eliminates the hard connection between the mechanical steering column and steering rod, and only transmits control commands through electrical signals. After the combination of the two, the chassis can achieve a "skateboarding" design, forming a flat "pure platform" under the car. The interior floor has no protrusions, and the legroom and trunk volume in the rear seats can be greatly increased. Loosening restrictions on body design and enhancing styling freedom: The simplification of mechanical structure allows car manufacturers to no longer limit body design for power/steering component layout, such as shortening front and rear overhangs and increasing wheelbase, which not only improves the visual proportion of the vehicle, but also further optimizes the center of gravity and passability of the body. 3、 Dual optimization of energy efficiency and consumption to enhance vehicle endurance performance The combination of their technical characteristics can reduce energy loss from the dimensions of power transmission and driving resistance, and with precise energy management, achieve substantial improvement in endurance. Zero power transmission loss and full energy efficiency: The power of the wheel hub motor directly acts on the wheels, with a transmission efficiency of nearly 100%. Compared with traditional power transmission systems (with a transmission efficiency of about 80% -90%), it reduces mechanical losses by about 10% -20%; Wire controlled steering is controlled by electrical signals, without mechanical friction loss, and only requires a small amount of electrical energy to achieve steering control, with extremely low overall energy consumption. Accurate energy recovery and resistance control: The wheel hub motor supports single wheel independent energy recovery, and the wire controlled steering can adjust the wheel steering angle according to braking/deceleration requirements, reducing body wind resistance and tire rolling resistance. The two work together to achieve integrated control of "steering+braking+energy recovery". For example, when braking, the inner wheels can increase the energy recovery torque, while the outer wheels cooperate with the steering angle to maintain vehicle stability, which not only improves the recovery efficiency (20% -30% higher than traditional vehicle recovery efficiency), but also avoids vehicle jolts during the recovery process. Allocate power as needed to reduce ineffective energy consumption: Faced with different road conditions (such as climbing, turning, and driving straight), ECU can accurately control the power output and steering angle of each wheel, without the need for "all wheel unified energy supply" like traditional vehicles. For example, when a single wheel climbs a slope, only that side of the wheel is twisted, and the remaining wheels maintain basic power, greatly reducing ineffective energy consumption. 4、 Adapting to advanced intelligent driving and becoming the core foundation of wire controlled chassis The core requirements for advanced intelligent driving (L4 and above) are precise control, fast response, and executable commands. The combination of wheel hub motors and wire controlled steering is the "golden partner" of the underlying execution end of intelligent driving, providing technical feasibility for it. Transmission of electrical signals, response speed in milliseconds: Both are controlled through electrical signals, without the lag of mechanical transmission. The response speed of steering and power commands can reach milliseconds, far faster than traditional mechanical control (hundreds of milliseconds). For intelligent driving, it can quickly respond to changes in road conditions (such as sudden obstacle avoidance) and improve driving safety. Four wheel independent execution, meeting the precise control requirements of intelligent driving: The path planning of advanced intelligent driving requires the vehicle to accurately control the status of each wheel, such as the need to quickly twist one side of the wheel and cooperate with precise steering when avoiding obstacles. The four-wheel independent control capability of wheel hub motor+wire controlled steering can perfectly match the execution requirements of intelligent driving, making the vehicle's driving trajectory highly consistent with the planned path and reducing deviations. Deep integration with wire controlled braking and suspension to achieve integrated chassis control: wheel hub motors and wire controlled steering can seamlessly integrate with wire controlled braking, active suspension and other wire controlled technologies to form a full stack wire controlled chassis. The central domain controller uniformly schedules power, steering, braking, and suspension, achieving a fully closed-loop intelligent control of "perception decision execution". This is the standard architecture for future intelligent driving. 5、 Enhance driving safety redundancy and reduce the risk of malfunctions The traditional mechanically connected power/steering system, once the core components (such as the drive shaft and steering column) are damaged, the vehicle will directly lose its power/steering capability, while the distributed design and electrical signal control of wheel hub motors and wire controlled steering can provide multiple safety redundancies. Distributed redundancy of the power system: The wheel hub motor is a four-wheel independent power source. Even if one or two motors fail, the remaining motors can still output power normally. With precise control of the wire controlled steering, the vehicle can maintain basic driving and steering capabilities, avoid breakdowns halfway, and improve driving safety in extreme situations. Multiple electronic control redundancies in the steering system: The wire controlled steering system itself is equipped with a redundant design of dual ECUs and dual power supplies. Even if one electronic control system fails, the other can immediately take over; By adding torque compensation to the wheel hub motor, if there is a slight deviation in steering control, the vehicle trajectory can be corrected by adjusting the wheel power torque, further improving steering safety. Eliminating the mechanical steering column to enhance collision safety: Wire controlled steering eliminates the traditional mechanical steering column. In the event of a frontal collision, the steering column will not collapse and invade the cockpit, greatly reducing the harm to the driver; And the wheel hub motor is integrated into the wheel, which does not occupy the cabin space, further optimizing the collision energy absorption structure of the vehicle body. 6、 Personalized driving experience, customizable with different driving modes The electronic control characteristics of both enable the vehicle's driving parameters to be defined by software, and car companies can customize different driving modes according to user needs to meet personalized needs. For example, through software adjustment, it is possible to achieve "sport mode" (high torque output+precise steering), "comfort mode" (soft power+light steering), "off-road mode" (four-wheel full torque+large angle steering), "parking mode" (crab walking+turning in place), and even support user-defined steering ratios and power distribution ratios, truly realizing "one car, multiple driving experiences". Addendum: The technological core of the combination of the two Essentially, the wheel hub motor is the "wire controlled power" and the wire controlled steering is the "wire controlled steering". The combination of the two achieves full electric control of the chassis core execution end, taking a crucial step in the transformation of automobiles from "mechanical products" to "intelligent electric products". At present, domestic car companies such as Dongfeng, BYD, and NIO are all laying out this combination technology, and the Dongfeng Yipai 007 has achieved mass production and become the first commercial benchmark for this technology combination. Overall, the combination of wheel hub motors and wire controlled steering is not only the development trend of new energy vehicle chassis technology, but also the underlying core support for advanced intelligent driving. With the further maturity of technologies such as silicon carbide, automotive grade chips, and domain controllers, the integration of the two will become more in-depth and will become a standard technology for mid to high end new energy vehicles in the future.