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Michelin partners with China’s MGL to produce Active Wheel powertrains

 
2 3,909 views Dec 1, 2008

venturi volage live paris 009

The first vehicles powered by Active Wheel technology could be on sale in China by next year

The first vehicles powered by Active Wheel technology could be on sale in China by next year

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Tire manufacturing giant Michelin is partnering with China's CITIC Guon Mengguli Corporation (MGL) to develop a new-generation electric powertrain systems based on its Active Wheel technology. The first commercial applications of Active Wheel are expected to be in production in China early next year, and if successful could spread to Western markets by 2010.

The Active Wheel is essentially a standard wheel that houses a pair of electric motors. One of the motors spins the wheel and transmits power to the ground, while the other acts as an active suspension system to improve comfort, handling and stability. The system is designed for battery or fuel-cell powered electric vehicles, and the technology is such that a vehicle equipped with it will no longer need any gearbox, clutch, transmission shaft, universal joint or anti-roll bar.

The partnership between the French tire manufacturer and the Chinese company will see Michelin's Active Wheel paired with batteries produced by MGL, while the two will work together to develop a control system, reports Automotive News.

The partnership has already yielded a basic electric vehicle that utilizes the technology. The Active Wheel electric car built by the two companies is based on a Lifan 520, a model from the same company that brought us this Mini Cooper clone at the start of the year. Currently the Active Wheel electric car is untested, but proves that the technology can work.

The batteries fitted in that car only have a lifespan of around 62,000 - 81,000 miles before they need replacing due to their ability to be charged a maximum of around 1,000 times. The car itself has a range of around 70 miles and can hit almost 90mph when pushed.

During October’s Paris Motor Show Michelin unveiled the latest generation of its innovative design in the new Volage electric roadster concept from Monaco’s Venturi, which you can read about in our previous story by clicking here.
2008 Venturi Volage Concept at Paris Motor Show

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Comments (2)

  1. ma_Jim avatar Jim Posted: 12/1/2008 7:10am PST

    Allows perfect clown car propulsion, huge tires and smaller than Smart proportions. Somehow all that unsprung weight doesn't convey they idea of handling and ride comfort and motorized assist for suspension functions is less that comforting.
     
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  2. ma_Chris avatar Chris Posted: 12/1/2008 9:18am PST

    yeah that was sort of my thinking jim.. the unsprung weight could be really bad, but at the same time, it looks pretty compact.. so much so that my concern is.. how powerful is that electric motor? i cant see it being any more than 30 hp, which is ok for a micro car i guess...

    just imagine this being scaled up to full sized sedan proportions.. theres going to be a lot of orders for 30" tires.. and 28" rims..... DUB is going to make a KILLING.
     
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