Distributed Drive in the EV Era Spurs Diverse Motor Layouts

With the advancement of electrification technologies, passenger vehicle powertrains have evolved from traditional single internal combustion engine (ICE) setups to distributed electric drive architectures, giving rise to various configurations such as dual-motor, triple-motor, and quad-motor layouts. In dual-motor setups, a common "1 front + 1 rear" all-wheel-drive (AWD) configuration uses one motor at each axle to independently drive the front and rear wheels. In contrast, the Avatr 06T adopts a "0 front + 2 rear" rear-wheel-drive layout, featuring two fully decoupled permanent magnet synchronous motors mounted on the rear axle, enabling independent torque control for the left and right rear wheels. The top-trim version further adds an induction asynchronous motor on the front axle, forming a "1 front + 2 rear" triple-motor architecture. This "1 front + 2 rear" triple-motor layout is also used in the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, which features three motors delivering a combined peak output of 1,138 kW and 1,770 N·m of torque, achieving a 0–100 km/h acceleration time of just 2.1 seconds and a top speed of 350 km/h. BYD’s "Yi San Fang" (Easy Three) platform similarly employs this layout, integrating it with advanced electronic control systems and active rear-wheel steering to enable unique driving functionalities. Meanwhile, Geely’s Galaxy Warship 700 is built on a native new-energy off-road platform and utilizes a transversely mounted front-engine, decoupled vector-based AWD hybrid-electric system. The "2 front + 1 rear" triple-motor configuration has also seen application: the Jetour Shanhai T2, equipped with Chery’s C-DM hybrid system, integrates a 1.5T engine and two motors on the front axle, while a single motor drives the rear axle. Great Wall Motor’s upcoming GT sports car will also adopt this layout, powered by its V8 super hybrid system. Quad-motor layouts are typically represented by the "2 front + 2 rear" configuration. BYD’s Yangwang series “Yi Si Fang” (Easy Four) architecture exemplifies this approach—its Yangwang U9 Xtreme achieves a record-breaking top speed of 496.22 km/h. The Yangwang U7 retains the four-motor setup but adds a range extender powered by a horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine.