Lordstown Endurance is one of the most recent electric pickup trucks concepts to jump onto the scene. This truck has a traditional overall shape, but it is currently very unique as it’s proposing to use in-hub electric motors for propulsion. This contrary to in-board electric motors proposed by nearly every other upcoming electric truck maker.
What’s the difference? Why use in-board versus in-hub electric motors? Here is the scoop.
Lordstown Endurance
Lordstown is part of a company that recently purchased the plant (in Lordstown, Ohio) from General Motors. The Endurance EV pickup truck is their first concept.
They are many start-up companies proposing and promising to build and sell an electric pickup truck within the next 1-2 years. Will using in-hub motors give it a competitive edge when it reaches the market?
Historically, there are two major drawbacks to using in-hub motors: relatively heavy weight of the motor assemblies, and relatively low power output. Has Lordstown solved and overcame these limitations? We need to learn more about this.
The power appears to be there. Lordstown states a total of 600 horsepower for the Endurance truck. That’s 150 hp per motor. Lordstown also quotes about 250 miles of total EPA driving range.
Some other stats are 80 mph top speed and 7,500 lbs of maximum towing capacity. The Endurance truck is said to have a starting price of $52,500.
Benefits of using in-hub motors are plentiful. It vastly reduces the number of moving parts on the truck. There are no traditional driveshafts to even think about. This offers designers more space to package the battery and other components. It’s the ultimate skateboard configuration.
If the GMC Hummer EV will be built on the same Lordstown production line, then the upcoming Hummer could use the same in-hub motor design.
The rest of the upcoming EV trucks: Rivian R1T, Tesla Cybertruck, Bollinger, Atlis and some others use in-board electric motor design with half-shafts to spin the wheels.
The new Nikola Badger may use in-hub motors, but we need to know more details about this.
