Stellantis is designing a two-speed transmission to be used in electrical off-roaders, a newly surfaced patent submitting reveals.

Most EVs (the Porsche Taycan being a notable exception) use single-speed transmissions, because the immediately accessible torque of electrical motors makes a number of gear ratios pointless. However in a patent software printed by america Patent and Trademark Workplace (USPTO) on Jan. 23 (and initially filed on April 28, 2023), Stellantis argues that this is probably not splendid for off-road automobiles.

The automaker notes that whereas off-roading usually requires plenty of torque at low speeds, the gearing that makes this attainable is not splendid for on-road effectivity and vary. So Stellantis proposes together with one gear for on-road driving and one for off-roading.

The transmission itself would use two planetary gear units in a housing mounted between an electrical motor and an axle’s half shafts, with clutches controlling torque output. These clutches would each interact one of many two gears and management output to the wheels.

Jeep Wrangler Magneto 3.0 Idea

The clutches may be used to rotate the half shafts in several instructions, permitting an EV “to rotate a couple of pivot level to permit improved mobility on low friction,” the applying states. That sounds a bit like Rivian’s shelved Tank Flip characteristic, or the upcoming electrical Mercedes-Benz G-Class’  G-Flip characteristic. Stellantis additionally mentions utilizing this {hardware} “to realize high-speed off-road maneuverability.”

A patent software doesn’t function affirmation of manufacturing plans, however Stellantis has been experimenting with electrical off-roaders with the Jeep Magneto ideas. That is seemingly in preparation for the next-generation Jeep Wrangler, which in line with a union doc will probably be offered solely as both an EV or sequence plug-in hybrid.