Following a successfully completed pilot project with promising test bench results, the BMW Group and Deepdrive are now planning initial practical testing. The driving characteristics of various Varian drive units will be tested on the road in BMW Group models.
The motor developed by Deepdrive promises higher efficiency in a compact design by combining two electric motors into one. Conventional electric motors consist of a stator that drives either an internal or external rotor. Twin rotor concept of the Startups The stator drives both an inner and an outer rotor simultaneously.
The collaboration between Deepdrive and BMW has been running since the IAA 2021. The Head of Research Vehicle Concepts and Technologies at the BMW Group, Karol Virsik, says:
"Deepdrive's sample parts have mostly exceeded the advertised features. This is unusual at such an early stage with a completely new technology."
The wheel drives enable lower energy consumption, space requirements, weight, and costs. According to BMW, this makes the concept fundamentally attractive for use in a wide variety of models and potentially highly scalable. Virsik plan ahead:
"Deepdrive has developed an exciting vision for the electric drive of the future. In the Startup Garage, we can experiment with them to see what the next generation of drives might look like."
Deepdrive also works with other manufacturers and major suppliers such as Continental. In 2024, the startup not only received the Munich Startup Award, but also the German Innovation AwardFelix Pörnbacher, co-founder and co-CEO of Deepdrive, explains:
"The collaboration with BMW was a very early stepping stone for us. It helped us navigate the complex corporate world and meet and exceed the high standards of the automotive industry. Now our next goal is to make it into a production model."
