Remember when the Prius came out and the engine turned off when the car stopped? That was the first time many people realized that idling at stop lights was a waste. Now there’s another eureka moment in vehicles: put the motor at the wheels.
This is not a new idea. In 1900, Ferdinand Porsche and Ludwig Lohner released an electric car with battery powered motors in the wheels. But gas guzzlers overtook the technology.
But now that electric cars are coming back, a Slovenian company, Elaphe Propulsion Technologies, is manufacturing in-wheel motors again.
By packing everything into the wheels, there’s no need for other components like a gearbox or a drive shaft which usually transfers power from the onboard motor to the wheels.
This makes the car lighter, Ambrozic tells CNN Business, and it saves energy by reducing the distance the power has to travel. It also frees up space in the vehicle and allows the manufacturer to make the car more aerodynamic. A more aerodynamic vehicle in turn needs less power, which can mean smaller batteries and lighter vehicles, he adds.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/26/tech/elaphe-slovenia-in-wheel-motors-spc-intl/index.html
This technology will be used in the Lightyear, a solar powered car. But it also is being used in pick ups to give them real four-wheel drive.
Darcy Hitchcock 
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