Finland's Verge Motorcycles, maker of an advanced electric motorcycle, has spun off a company called Donut Lab, which is making hub motors for electric vehicles.
The Finland-based company’s in-wheel motor serves up 650 kilowatts of power
Eliminating the entire drivetrain is the benefit. That’s a ton of complicated heavy wear parts you immediately don’t have to worry about. Even if you take more wear on the motor, fixing that would be as simple as just swapping out a wheel.
On the other hand every time you need to replace a wheel (one of the most easily damaged parts of your car) you’re probably shelling out a quarter of a car in cost.
Eliminating the entire drivetrain is the benefit. That’s a ton of complicated heavy wear parts you immediately don’t have to worry about. Even if you take more wear on the motor, fixing that would be as simple as just swapping out a wheel.
I mean you effectively just eliminated 75-90% of the car
On the other hand every time you need to replace a wheel (one of the most easily damaged parts of your car) you’re probably shelling out a quarter of a car in cost.
That’s assuming you can’t just move the motor to a new wheel.