Magna Powertrain’s collaboration with Mercedes-Benz highlights the significance of steady e-drive innovation and optimised worth chains. By Will Girling
No matter whether or not an off-road car runs on an inner combustion engine (ICE) or a battery, engineers should contemplate the identical elements: traction, gradeability, and manoeuvrability in tough and rugged terrain. Nonetheless, new drivetrain improvements might quickly elevate the efficiency of electrical autos (EVs) far past their gas-powered equivalents.
Daniel Lindvai-Soos, Director of Product Administration at Magna Powertrain, tells Automotive World that electrical drivetrains current an a variety of benefits over ICE. These embrace immediate torque, higher weight distribution for improved dealing with, and fewer transferring elements requiring much less upkeep. Magna Powertrain has been working with automakers to assist realise these advantages within the off-roading phase.
Again in 2024, manufacturing for Mercedes-Benz’s G 580 with EQ know-how—the electrical model of its G-Class SUV off-roader—commenced at Magna’s manufacturing facility in Graz, Austria. Lindvai-Soos highlights the eDS Duo e-motor for example of that collaboration, in addition to the broader significance of electrical drivetrain innovation in next-gen EVs.
Energy and effectivity
Off-road autos should be capable to navigate difficult terrain with energy and precision at low speeds, making an e-motor’s steady efficiency—which means its skill to function at full energy with out overheating and degrading the unit—paramount.
The essential differentiator between Magna’s eDS Duo and different ‘on-road’ items, explains Lindvai-Soos, is its two-gear design enabling two speeds. “That gives excessive steady efficiency with out affecting its sturdiness.” The eDS Duo additionally reveals the corporate’s mixed emphasis on energy and vitality effectivity. It delivers 240kW peak energy per axle, incorporating two motors in a singular “wheel-individual propulsion system”, which permits the G 580 with EQ know-how to spin 360 levels from a stationary place—known as a ‘G-Flip’ or ‘tank flip’. Nonetheless, that is solely half the story.
“We launched silicon-carbide (SiC) semiconductors within the inverter to scale back switching losses, in addition to decoupling unused motors to preserve battery energy,” says Lindvai-Soos. SiC gadgets are more and more favoured in EVs for his or her enhanced conductivity and thermal administration. For the off-road car market, the place buyer considerations over vary aren’t any much less prevalent than on-road, these qualities mix with EVs’ quieter drivetrain to supply a superior product expertise. Lindvai-Soos highlights that lowering noise air pollution permits for a much more “immersive” expertise when driving in nature.
Steady innovation
Whereas a number of OEMs are actually releasing entry-level electrical fashions priced lower than US$30,000 to seize alternatives within the mass market, the off-road phase usually attracts premium and luxurious shoppers. Nonetheless, the preliminary price of EVs can nonetheless be appreciably greater than ICE equivalents, and this creates a barrier to widespread adoption. Nonetheless, innovation is steadily bringing prices down—for instance, probably the most reasonably priced SUV from new Volkswagen model Scout Motors begins at US$50,000.
Lindvai-Soos is satisfied that steady innovation might be essential to maintain momentum for off-road car electrification. Among the many most necessary engineering concerns going ahead might be efficiency, reliability, and sustainability.
“Off-road autos require excessive torque, sturdy energy supply, and exact management whereas nonetheless having the ability to drive lengthy distances in distant areas, the place charging infrastructure could also be restricted,” he says. “And these environments may be harsh, with publicity to water, mud, mud, and excessive temperatures.” Elevated sturdiness and diminished weight of batteries and e-drive items might be important for assembly clients’ effectivity and dealing with necessities. The flexibleness of an electrical structure additionally permits e-drives to be customised and tailored to particular use circumstances and a broader vary of auto designs.
A completely optimised worth chain
Going ahead, Lindvai-Soos echoes a recurring trade sentiment: specializing in e-drive effectivity will finally produce extra sustainable EVs, and he extends this to incorporate off-roaders. “Superior vitality administration techniques and extra environment friendly energy electronics can optimise the usage of obtainable vitality. As environmental laws change into stricter and the demand for sustainable options grows, improvements on this space might help cut back the environmental impression of off-road autos.”
Innovation is necessary for automakers and suppliers, but it surely’s by no means simply restricted to product know-how
Sustainability by way of e-drive effectivity also can imply improved whole price of possession, and there are research to corroborate this. An April 2024 whitepaper by the Electrical Energy Analysis Institute and Pure Assets Protection Council modelled the impact of prioritising EV effectivity within the US automotive trade over a 30-year interval. It concluded that rising energy/drivetrain effectivity mixed with lightweighting might greater than double EV vary limits with out additionally needing to extend battery sizes. This state of affairs diminished nationwide vitality consumption by 53% and subsequently saved shoppers US$200bn in charging prices.
Persevering with to enhance particular person elements within the electrical drivetrain and proving EVs’ efficiency superiority in segments like off-roading will contribute to a stronger e-mobility market. Nonetheless, Lindvai-Soos additionally takes a broader perspective on the deeper significance of Magna’s collaboration with its clients. “Innovation is necessary for automakers and suppliers, but it surely’s by no means simply restricted to product know-how. It additionally contains processes, operations, uncooked materials processing, and extra,” he concludes. “The goal is to include a totally optimised, cradle-to-grave worth chain.”
