A Subaru AWD patent was recently filed for the electric version of its signature AWD system. This new system makes other AWD systems seem outdated.
Subaru’s Symmetrical AWD is practically the company’s calling card, right up there with boxer engines. Now the automaker has filed a patent showing how it plans to keep that identity alive when everything goes electric. The new system is called “Electric All-Wheel-Drive Vehicle,” which sounds boring until you read what it actually does.
Advanced electric all-wheel drive that makes a huge difference
Instead of just splitting power between front and rear motors like most EVs, this setup constantly learns and adjusts based on what’s happening. Sensors track not just wheel speed but also in which direction each end of the car is pointing. Dive into a corner too hot and the system detects understeer, then uses regenerative and friction braking on individual wheels to tuck the nose back in line. Same thing if the rear starts sliding out on slippery roads.
This Subaru AWD patent could lead to more efficient Symmetrical AWD electric vehicles
The really interesting part is how it handles efficiency. If the car figures out it can get you moving forward with less total power by sending more torque to one rear wheel and pulling it from the front, that’s what it’ll do. Nobody else has a patent for this exact approach, which means Subaru found a way to differentiate its EVs in a crowded market. Whether this makes a noticeable difference on real roads is anyone’s guess since they probably haven’t even built a working prototype yet.
What do most AWD EVs offer?
Most electric vehicles that have AWD are equipped with two electric motors to offer power at each axle. These dual-motor versions are made to provide more power and give drivers power at all four wheels. Typically, dual-motor EVs have less driving range than single-motor models, but that won’t be the case with Subaru EV technology. In keeping the Subaru AWD system alive with this new patent, every model will have power at all four wheels, and regenerative braking technology for electric AWD models could mean getting more driving range out of the vehicle simply by reducing power to one of the wheels.
What is the Subaru AWD patent called?
Most automakers are right on the nose with electric vehicle patents, and Subaru does the same. This new Subaru AWD patent is called Electric All-Wheel-Drive Vehicle, which is right on the nose. It should signal the Subaru electric future of offering EVs with AWD as part of the standard packaging, as the brand has done for many years. Still, the changes that help make driving better and control rotational motion and power consumption are a huge step forward in the EV world.
How efficient can the system be?
While there aren’t any measurables yet, the idea is intriguing. This new Subaru AWD patent shows a system that can adjust the torque output for both motors to adjust front and rear wheel rotation speeds as needed. The system adjusts the torque output for both motors to meet the needs of the driving situation while minimizing the power consumed in doing so.
As you probably guessed, this system will utilize sensors to detect the direction in which each end of the vehicle is moving and the rotational wheel speed. This means if you hit a corner too fast, it will adjust the brake force to keep you from spinning out of control. As an additional benefit, the system will use regenerative and friction braking at each wheel to turn the car and recapture some of the energy that would otherwise be lost.
A control unit covered in the new Subaru AWD patent
The new control unit covered under the patent can help keep a driver from spinning out of control. Still, bad tires and slippery conditions can’t be solved by the best electronics, but that’s not what this new Subaru AWD patent is all about. The new control unit could increase torque to one rear tire and remove it from the front to reduce power output and stop a vehicle from spinning.
Unfortunately, how this system works in real on-road testing is still pure speculation because the brand hasn’t built or tested a functioning prototype yet. Subaru is expected to continue to build EVs in partnership with Toyota, but this new Subaru AWD patent could be beneficial to future Subaru EVs, should it ever make it to the development phase.
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