Novel motors and controllers for high-performance electric vehicle with four in-wheel motors

We have, in accordance with new concepts, undertaken the development of a high-performance electric motor vehicle, designated as the IZA. The main performance features of the IZA are a maximum speed of 176 km/h, a range of 548 km per charge at a constant speed of 30 km/h, and acceleration from 0 to 400 m in 18 s. We have developed a direct driving in-wheel motor and controller in order to achieve high performance characteristics. The in-wheel motor is composed of an outer rotor with a rare earth permanent magnet (Sm-Co) and an inner stator. The motor drive controller consists of a three-phase inverter and a microprocessor-based controller. The maximum output and maximum torque of each total drive system, including motor and inverter, are 25 kW and 42.5 kg/spl middot/m, respectively, and the total efficiency of the drive system is over 90% at the rated speed. The performance of the motor, controller, and drive system have been confirmed by numerous simplex and vehicle transit tests. This paper describes the design concepts, configuration, and performance of the motor, controller, and drive system developed for this high-performance electric vehicle.