GKN details next-generation lightweight EV powertrain

Powertrain supplier GKN has announced its latest development in electric motors; a lightweight eAxle which it calls “the world’s most advanced electrified driveline technology”. 

The system, which will be fully unveiled at the Frankfurt motor show later this month, is claimed to be far smaller and lighter than the current range of powertrains on the market, and can be adapted to front, rear or four-wheel drive applications. 

It features a two-speed transmission, which has been fettled to give maximum efficiency, as well as being fitted with GKN’s celebrated Twinster torque vectoring technology, already in production on the Ford Focus RS, Range Rover Evoque and Vauxhall Insignia GSi. 

GKN claims a wide range of potential applications for the technology, but the driveline’s light weight and compact stature makes it ideal for smaller EVs. It has previously been said that the heavy weight of electric powertrains makes them unsuitable for smaller cars, despite the success of the Renault Zoe and Nissan Leaf. 

The new unit also has production advantages, GKN claims, as its single-piece installation means a time saving over the multiple components of equivalent systems. 

GKN remains tight-lipped concerning which brands have shown an interest in the technology, but both BMW and Porsche have previously invested in the British company’s all-wheel-drive systems in the past, fuelling speculation that they may be among the first to implement it in the future.