Donut Lab’s hub motor meets WATT’s battery to create new EV skateboard

One of the big stories of last year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was the debut of Donut Lab’s diminutive but powerful electric motors . When I spoke with Donut earlier this year, the company told me that it was looking at applications ranging from drones to large automotive motors, but also things like wind turbines and even washing machines. Now, almost a year later, we have our first look at an electric vehicle that uses the technology, thanks to a new collaboration between Donut Lab and WATT Electric Vehicle Company. WATT had previously developed the Passenger and Commercial EV Skateboard (PACES), a lightweight aluminum platform for low-volume EVs. Now, it’s integrating Donut’s motors, first with one for each rear wheel, although there will eventually be an all-wheel-drive variant, too. The small EV chassis is rather intriguing-with the motors in the rear wheel hubs, the layout is even more space-efficient than a more conventional EV, which still needs to find a few cubic feet to package its drive unit(s). The two companies see plenty of potential for the platform, which they say could give rise to “multiple vehicle configurations from beach buggies to high-performance sports cars to commercial delivery vehicles.”

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