Browse Topic: Electric vehicles
Letter from the Guest Editors
The global automotive industry is facing an unprecedented convergence of uncertainties driven by geopolitical tensions, evolving trade policies, emissions related regulations, and increasingly volatile consumer demand. Shifting emissions legislation, including the EU’s tightened CO2 targets and long-term plans to phase out internal combustion engines, is imposing strategic and financial pressures on automakers and suppliers as they navigate divergent regional regulatory trajectories. Demand side volatility further complicates the landscape. Consumer preferences are fluctuating due to economic pressures, infrastructure constraints, and uneven EV adoption patterns. While some markets show stagnation in battery electric vehicle uptake, hybrids are rising as consumers seek cost efficient alternatives amid uncertain energy and regulatory environments. Within this unstable context, the transition toward Software Defined Vehicles (SDVs) is emerging as a critical strategic response. SDVs, characterized by centralized computing, updatable software architectures, and over the air feature deployment, offer automakers greater adaptability in addressing regulatory shifts and market dynamics. By decoupling hardware from software cycles, SDVs enable faster innovation, reduced development risk, and new digital revenue models, while virtualization and AI driven analytics enhance development efficiency and lifecycle value.
The Electro-Mechanical Brake (EMB) system is a dry-type Brake-by-Wire technology that eliminates hydraulic components and directly controls friction braking using electrical actuators at each wheel. The EMB architecture consists of a Main Center Control Unit, a redundant Backup Center Control Unit, and four Wheel Control Units communicating via CAN FD. Due to its direct involvement in vehicle braking, compliance with ISO 26262 functional safety requirements is critical. As system complexity increases, potential risks such as hardware failures and communication faults must be systematically addressed. The proposed TSC was developed according to ISO 26262, covering the concept phase (Part 3), system-level development (Part 4), and software implementation (Part 6). Safety goals and Functional Safety Requirements derived from HARA are used to guide system architecture design and TSC development. Key design principles include modularity, redundancy, fault detection, and fail-safe operation. Verification is conducted at both system and vehicle levels using ECU-in-the-Loop Simulation (EILS), Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation (HILS), and real-vehicle tests. Fault scenarios, including Main Center Control Unit failures and CAN communication losses, are injected using a custom LabVIEW-based fault injection tool. The study evaluates Fault Tolerant Time Interval (FTTI) settings, error handling mechanisms, and control handover strategies under fault conditions. The results show that redundancy and localized communication enable stable operation and smooth control transfer within the FTTI window without noticeable impact on braking performance or driver awareness. This study demonstrates the robustness of the proposed EMB architecture. Future work will focus on prognostics and maintenance strategies to support safe deployment in autonomous and electric vehicles. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]
The automotive industry's transition towards electrification, particularly in the passenger car (PC) and light commercial vehicle (LCV) segments, has intensified the focus on vehicle lightweighting to maximize battery range and efficiency. Conventional brake systems in electric vehicles (EVs) are subject to minimal mechanical wear due to regenerative braking, making corrosion the primary cause of component failure and replacement. This paper details the development and production of an innovative lightweight brake, which addresses these challenges. The "Cast-In" brake disc combines a traditional gray cast iron friction ring with a pre-finished, deep-drawn steel hat through a specialized composite casting process. This design achieves a significant reduction in unsprung mass—1.6 kg per disc in a 390mm x 36mm example—directly contributing to improved vehicle dynamics and energy efficiency. Key manufacturing challenges, including ensuring a robust material bond, preventing casting defects, and sealing the steel hat during casting, have been overcome through advanced process controls, simulation, and a patented sealing system. Furthermore, a novel, enhanced corrosion protection system has been developed and validated to meet the required service life of over 10 years, addressing the specific demands of e-mobility. With production scheduled to begin in April 2026, this technology is a milestone for modern braking solutions in the era of electrification.
Moan noise is a low-frequency noise occurring in the 170–500 Hz frequency ranges. While it frequently appears in vehicles equipped with a rear Coupled Torsion Beam Axle (CTBA), the exact cause, generation mechanism and clear solutions remain unidentified. For those reasons, we have developed a moan noise analysis method capable of representing the moan noise phenomenon in vehicles with rear CTBA along with an automation tool. From these results, we can use moan analysis models to reduce real moan noise problems. Consequently, this not only enhances customer satisfaction and vehicle quality but also significantly increases the work efficiency of vehicle designers through design modification in the preliminary stages of vehicle development
Drum brake systems are becoming increasingly important in electric vehicles (EV) and purpose-built vehicles due to cost competitiveness and EURO-7 particulate emission regulations. Despite this trend, drum brake friction behavior remains incompletely characterized due to its dependence on multiple coupled variables: temperature history, braking conditions, and component interactions. To address this gap, this study presents a method for developing a time-series friction torque prediction model using the Mixed-effects Random Forest (MERF) machine learning framework. Time-series data collected from sensors during drum brake dynamometer tests were analyzed to identify the key variables that govern the friction torque. Significant inputs were selected through Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA), considering test-to-test variability and potential mixed effects, and were then used to train and tune the MERF model. Model performance was evaluated by comparing predicted friction torque with measured torque, and prediction error was quantified by using Mean Absolute Error (MAE) to check whether predicted model is reliable. The proposed prediction model demonstrates a high level of agreement with experimental measurements, confirming that the MERF approach can effectively capture the non-linear and transient characteristics of drum brake friction torque from time-series sensor signals. These results indicate that friction torque estimation is feasible using only sensor signals already available from conventional test instrumentation, without additional dedicated sensors. This capability is expected to support broader applications, including brake performance prediction for vehicles equipped with drum brakes and enhanced simulation of drum brake thermal performance across operating conditions.
In the past two decades, the global automotive industry has been flipped on its head. Even before I started writing professionally about this business, Chinese-made cars were something of a joke and European and North American automakers were dominating the still-nascent market for consumer vehicles in China. China is now the largest automotive market in the world by a wide margin, Chinese-brand vehicles are generally highly respected, and American politicians are lying about why consumers here can't get access to them. In the late 2010s, we began to see a shift in the Chinese market that has come to fruition in the past five years. When I attended the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit as a member of the media for the first time, the first Chinese vehicles were being displayed on the show floor. Let's just say no one was impressed. Much of what was coming from Chinese brands at the time were either weird, outdated machines or the automotive equivalent of the Rolex knock-offs you could find on Canal St. in New York.
This SAE Information Report establishes the security requirements for digital communication between Plug-In Electric Vehicles (PEV), the Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE), and the utility, ESI, Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS), Battery Energy Management Systems (BEMS), and Distributed Energy Resource (DER) Aggregators.
Full, industry standard test procedures for measuring the charging performance of a vehicle can be found in ISO/SAE 12906. This document describes the lessons learned during the development of that document, including false assumptions that are common in vehicle charging tests. The purpose of this document to better explain the need for the specific procedures in ISO/SAE 12906. Furthermore, by communicating the false assumptions and complications of historic charging tests, it is also hoped that others wishing to create test procedures different from ISO/SAE 12906 can do so without making the same mistakes of the past.
Breaking down the critical differences in fastener selection for EV platforms. Specifying fasteners for an electric vehicle is a fundamentally different exercise compared to an ICE vehicle. For ICE vehicles, the main challenges - heat, vibration, and torque repeatability - are well understood, and the industry has decades of established solutions to draw from. EVs introduce four additional constraints that change the equation entirely: high-voltage (isolation, low magnetic permeability, thermal-cycling resilience and gram-level weight targets. A mis-specified bolt at the battery, busbar, or inverter level can reduce efficiency, compromise safety or void certification. To get it right, there is a need to understand each constraint and the materials that can address it.
While other automakers might be pulling back, Mercedes is pushing forward with its EV strategy. In Los Angeles, the automaker unveiled the racing-inspired AMG GT 4-Door Coupe EV. The trimotor electric sports car delivers up to 1,153 hp (860 kW) and 1,475 lb-ft (2,000 Nm) and has an audio feature that should appeal to petrol heads. Sitting on the automaker's AMG.EA architecture, the GT 4-Door Coupe takes the GT name into the electric world. To get the full skinny on the new vehicle, Mercedes invited me to a vehicle briefing during a trip to Germany ahead of its unveiling in Los Angeles. The engineers shared details about the vehicle's axial flux motors, 800-volt ultra-quick charging architecture, and that V8 engine note.
The deployment of modern electric articulated buses continues to grow exponentially across the globe. Capable of carrying approximately 50% more passengers than standard buses, these electric vehicles (EVs) are instantly recognizable by the flexible joint that connects the two sections of the vehicle. To the untrained eye, this bend may first appear as a simple passage for commuters. The truth is that it's a critical mechanical and electrical link. Known as the gangway, it's essential that this flexible joint is weather-resistant and capable of withstanding constant motion and mechanical stress during operations, especially when traversing dense urban environments.
Dogs and cars are an iconic combo. From ears flapping out the window of an old F-150 to muddy paws in the back of a Subaru, pups like to ride. When the drive is made with four of the latest all-electric, three-row SUVs on a mission to take 16 beagles from a shelter in Nebraska to new forever homes in the Pacific Northwest as part of Operation Frodo, both dogs and humans can learn a lot about EVs and EV infrastructure in the U.S. The SUVs in question were the Cadillac Escalade IQ, the Lucid Gravity, the Kia EV9, and the Hyundai Ioniq 9. The route wound from Omaha to Portland via Salt Lake City. The lesson learned? Anyone who complains about the charging infrastructure in the U.S. is welcome to sit in a dog crate and nap while we drive a few thousand miles. Public fast charging isn't perfect, obviously, but I've got 16 happy dogs in states far from where they started who can attest to its functionality.
I wanted to return to the topic from last month's column, my visit to the annual Summit of the International Transport Forum, the world's largest gathering of transport ministers and a global transport policy event, in Leipzig, Germany. Since there wasn't a lot of news directly related to automotive engineering news, I wanted to share a bit from this high-level event through editorial privilege. It was interesting to hear from some of the people in charge around the world as they shared their views on our current transportation situation and what they are doing to affect the future. At a panel on EV expansion, for example, the people in the room seemed to agree that the commercial EV industry has moved beyond proving the viability of battery-electric trucks and is shifting focus to overcoming infrastructure, regulatory, and systems integration challenges that continue to limit large-scale deployment. Even better, for those of us who've been listening to the arguments for and against electric vehicles for multiple decades now, representatives from across the industry - including logistics providers, vehicle manufacturers, charging companies, and policy groups - said that zero-emission freight transport has become a business strategy today, more so than any sort of sustainability effort as it might have been in years past. In the same vein, what might have been a battery-electric transport pilot program in 2016 can today be integrated into an organization's core freight operations.
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