BMW Startup Garage brings DeepDrive electric drive to the road

The BMW Startup Garage and the Munich-based company DeepDrive are road-testing an innovative electric motor with a double rotor. The concept promises powerful drives with high efficiency and range.

Following the successful completion of a pilot project with promising test bench results, the BMW Group and DeepDrive are now planning an initial practical test. The driving characteristics of different variants of the drive will be tested on the road in BMW Group models.

In-wheel drive train drive or central drive

The DeepDrive concept enables extremely compact drives with low fuel consumption and high torque density by virtually combining two electric motors in one. Conventional electric motors consist of a stator that moves either an internal or an external rotor. With DeepDrive's double rotor concept, the stator drives both an internal and an external rotor at the same time.

The compact design and low weight allow in-wheel drive train drives in which a separate electric motor is located directly in each wheel hub. However, the technology can also be used in the classic central drive, in which a central motor block drives the vehicle.

BMW emphasises high degree of maturity of DeepDrive development

BMW was the first major manufacturer to become aware of DeepDrive and has continued to intensify the collaboration since the IAA 2021. The technology has already reached a remarkable level of maturity. »The DeepDrive sample parts have mostly exceeded the announced properties,« says Karol Virsik, Head of Research Vehicle Concepts and Technologies at the BMW Group. »That's unusual at such an early stage with a completely new technology.«

The proof of concept, i.e. proof that the concept is fundamentally realisable, was achieved on the test bench. After the top results under laboratory conditions, the practical test on the road now follows. The wheel drives promise lower energy consumption, space requirements, weight and costs. This makes the concept fundamentally attractive for use in very different models and potentially very scalable.

»DeepDrive has developed an exciting vision for the electric drive of the future,« comments Virsik. »In the Startup Garage, we can work with them to experiment with what the drives of the generation after next could look like.«

Cooperation with Continental and Co.

DeepDrive is now also working with other manufacturers and major suppliers such as Continental. In 2024, the drive concept was honoured with the German Innovation Award. »The collaboration with BMW was an early springboard for us,« says Felix Pörnbacher, co-founder and co-CEO of DeepDrive. »It helped us to find our way in the complex corporate world and to meet and exceed the high standards of the automotive industry. Now our next goal is to make it into a production model.«

Start-up cooperation with the BMW Startup Garage

The BMW Startup Garage uses the so-called venture-client model to implement pioneering technologies from startups and thus improve the BMW Group's capabilities in the areas of innovation, sustainability and operational performance. The model was launched in 2015. BMW becomes a client and develops the technology in close collaboration with young companies.

»The BMW Startup Garage offers us an excellent opportunity to get in touch with startups - and the best startups we then continue to work with,« says Virsik. »The start-ups are very important to us because they show us new perspectives with unconventional out-of-the-box thinking.«