Hyundai Uni Wheel reinvents the wheel for better EV range, capacity, and interior space in more compact form factor

Hyundai Motor Group has been making some stunning strides in the EV market of late, releasing some smashing successes, like the Ioniq 5 and 6 and other designs under the Kia brand, like the EV6. The company also shows no signs of slowing down, despite recent setbacks in EV adoption. Recently, Hyundai Motor Group unveiled an all-in-one solution that moves much of the bulk of a car's suspension linkages into the wheel.

The Universal Wheel Drive system, or Uni Wheel in short, takes large drive components and suspension linkages, like CV joint, drive shaft, and the reducer, and condenses them into a single of planetary gears inside the hub of the wheel. The idea behind this is that the axle is always connected to both the motor and the wheel at a 90° angle.

Hyundai doesn't address steering directly, although it does talk about splitting up electric motor components into smaller parts for improved packaging. However, a closer look at the concept's launch video reveals that there is still a CV joint to manage steering duties, so it doesn't benefit from packaging changes to the same degree as something like Aptera's hub motors.

Not only does the elimination of CV joints and moving the motor out of the middle of the chassis help save space for battery packs between the wheels, Hyundai claims that the Uni Wheel is more efficient than a CV joint. This is especially true in situations that demand high suspension articulation, where a traditional joint starts to experience degradation in torque delivery and ride quality.

Hyundai has already validated the Uni Wheel for speeds of up to 120 km/h and wheel torque of up to 1200 nm, so it clearly still has a way to go before it lands on consumer vehicles, but the tech does promise to address some of the biggest issues plaguing compact EVs.

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