As EVs continue to innovate, expect plenty of surprises
Among the products Hyundai has unveiled at CES in Las Vegas is an innovation to its Ioniq 5 EV, the Mobis e-Corner System, which allows the wheels to be positioned completely perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, allowing for crab driving, zero turns, diagonal driving, pivot turns, and other unorthodox maneuvers, controlled by functions from the console and while the car projects arrows on the pavement to indicate its movements.
Innovation? Depends on your perspective. We have had vehicles with such features since the Roaring Twenties, a century ago, and they have always been considered a novelty that never took off. What’s the difference today? But now we’re now talking about EVs and can therefore eliminate the transmission, meaning everything can be done via the wheels: the motor, steering, damping and braking; as simple as that.
The Hyundai Mobis e-Corner system integrates driving, braking, steering and suspension systems within each wheel of the vehicle, which allows for a completely different driving approach. The wheels operate independently without any mechanical connection to other devices, because the four components of the in-wheel motor, electric brake, electric steering and shock absorber are combined: the motor mounted inside the wheel provides power directly, the electric steering changes the…
