Eco-Driving Control for Electric Vehicles with Multi-Speed Transmission: Optimizing Vehicle Speed and Powertrain Operation in Dynamic Environments

This article presents an eco-driving algorithm for electric vehicles featuring multi-speed transmissions. The proposed controller is formulated as a co-optimization problem, simultaneously optimizing both vehicle longitudinal speed and powertrain operation to maximize energy efficiency. Constraints derived from a connected vehicle–based traffic prediction algorithm are used to ensure traffic safety and smooth traffic flow in dynamic environments with multiple signalized intersections and mixed traffic. By simplifying the complex, nonlinear mixed-integer problem, the proposed controller achieves computational efficiency, enabling real-time implementation. To evaluate its performance, traffic scenarios from both Simulation of Urban MObility (SUMO) and real-world road tests are employed. The results demonstrate a notable reduction in energy consumption by up to 11.36% over an 18 km drive.