The Dongfeng Fengshen E70, The First Homologated Passenger Car With In-Wheel Motors

The Dongfeng Fengshen E70 is the world’s first in-wheel motor driven passenger car fully homologated by the China MIIT, using Protean Electric’s ProteanDrive technology.

Wuhan, China & Farnham, UK. The Dongfeng Fengshen BEV E70, with Protean Electric’s in-wheel motor technology, was homologated in China by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in the “Announcement of Road Motor Vehicle Manufacturers and Products”.  This marks a new milestone in the industrialisation process of Protean Electric’s leading in-wheel motor product, ProteanDrive.

In March 2022, Protean Electric announced that market adoption of its ProteanDrive solution will be accelerated under the new partnership between Dongfeng Motor Corporation Technical Center and Protean’s joint venture in China, Wuxi Weifu Electric Drive Technology. In just half a year, the three parties have developed the Dongfeng Fengshen E70 4WD version, the first homologated passenger car in the world with in-wheel motors.

The Dongfeng Fengshen E70, one of the bestselling passenger vehicles in China, is a battery electric vehicle. Its front wheels are driven by an inherited central motor, and in the 4WD version the rear wheels are driven by two ProteanDrive Pd18 in-wheel motors. Each Pd18 has a peak power of 78Kw and a peak torque of 1250Nm.

The addition of ProteanDrive has allowed the E70 to be turned into a high performing AWD option, with limited design changes and a very short development cycle. ProteanDrive delivers torque and power directly to the wheels with no shafts or gears and is both lighter and more efficient than conventional EV powertrains. On the E70 the in wheel motors improve straight line performance and enable the vehicle to torque vector, shorten braking time and improve vehicle handling and safety.

In China, new energy vehicles sales totaled 3.521 million in 2021, with all-electric cars accounting for 81.6% of the new energy passenger cars in circulation. Dongfeng have shown themselves to be at the forefront of new energy vehicle (NEV) development, as one of the first OEMs in the world to use wheel motors in their passenger cars and has achieved 134,258 NEV sales, 129.2% growth in the first 11 months in 2022.

Protean and Wuxi Weifu, through their JV Wuxi Weifu Electric Drive Technology, will continue to innovate and promote further product research and development enabling Dongfeng Motor to improve their electric vehicle offering with more value for customers and improved product differentiation.

This project, along with others in the pipeline, shows the adoption of in-wheel motors can deliver better electric vehicles and solves many of the challenges OEMs have in electrification of their product offering today, tomorrow and into the future.

About Protean Electric

Protean Electric is an automotive technology innovator, and a world-leading developer of in-wheel motors including ProteanDrive, a fully integrated in-wheel drive solution. Protean Electric’s technology is strategically positioned to play a major role in the hybrid, electric vehicle and future mobility market by offering a combination of packaging advantages, new vehicle design opportunities, performance benefits and earnings improvements. Globally Protean Electric has over 315 licensed and pending patents across 75 patent families with operations in the United Kingdom, China and the USA. Protean Electric is part of the BEDEO Group, a leading technology company that brings smart, sustainable transportation solutions to companies across Europe as they transition on the path to zero emission mobility.

About Dongfeng Motor Group Technical Center

Dongfeng Motor Technical Center is the central R&D department for new products of Dongfeng Motor Group Co. Ltd.,(DFM). It is China National Enterprise Technology Center, and recognized by the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the State Taxation Administration and the General Administration of Customs. DFM Technical Centre is a Class I institute of scientific research recognized by the Ministry of Science and Technology. It mainly undertakes the R&D of passenger cars, off-road vehicles, new-energy vehicles and powertrain products.

About Wuxi Weifu Electric Drive Technology

Wuxi Weifu Electric Drive Technology Co.,Ltd is a joint venture between Wuxi Weifu High-Tech Group Co.,Ltd. and Protean Electric Limited (UK), which manufactures and sells In-wheel motor under the ProteanDrive brand for the Chinese market. With the mission of “Quality & Intelligent Drives a Better Life” of Weifu Group and the corporate goal of “Global Leader in In-wheel motor Technology” of Protean Electric, Weifu E-Drive upholds the quality and philosophy of Weifu and practices the strategic policy of internationalization and autonomy of Weifu Group. Weifu E-Drive is committed to providing high-performance and high-quality powertrain technology for electric vehicles and boosting the development of automobile electrification with the development of our own technology, products and services.

Media Contact:

Mark Haworth
Mark.haworth@proteanelectric.com
+44 778000371