Excellent performances for the electric vehicles where they will be installed and lower manufacturing costs are the targets of the new Ultium Drive motors signed by General Motors, which are part of a scalable family.
Besides the new motors, GM has revealed details on the controllers that share in determining more efficient ways to distribute the torque in three-motor systems: it seems the artificial intelligence and the machine learning are exploited, so permitting a broad array of vehicles, from high-performance cars to work trucks. Moreover, the American player has announced the inverter and other electronic components are directly integrated into Ultium Drive motors precisely to decrease the complexity of its production, then lower costs.
The units featuring 180 and 255 kW are permanent-magnet motors designed with the target of minimizing the dependence on heavy rare earth materials, whereas the 62-kW motor is induction type.
«Twenty years – said Mark Reus, General Motors President – of electric drive system development and more than 100 years of high-volume vehicle engineering are helping GM pivot quickly from conventional vehicles to EVs. Our vertical integration in this space, encompassing both hardware and software, helps give us control over our own destiny and a significant competitive advantage».