National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) has acquired Protean Electric, a developer of in-wheel motor technology. The acquisition is part of the strategy of NEVS’ parent company, Evergrande Health, to become a major player in the global electric vehicle (EV) industry, and paves the way for NEVS to deploy Protean Electric’s in-wheel electric drive technology, ProteanDrive, into its future products.
Protean Electric is an automotive technology innovator and developer of in-wheel motors (IWMs) and future propulsion solutions. Founded in 2008, the company claims to have devoted more than one million engineering man-hours to develop and validate its ProteanDrive IWM technology. The business has over 160 patents globally across electric motor and power electronics design, control and manufacturability, with another 150 patents pending.
Protean Electric will continue to operate as an independent business under the Evergrande umbrella, developing future powertrain and mobility solutions to meet the needs of the market. Formally, Protean Holdings will now be merged into Virtue Surge, a subsidiary of NEVS. The acquisition will provide additional resources and business opportunities for Protean Electric, broadening the company’s skills pool, knowledge and experience – as well as creating a sizeable customer in NEVS.
KY Chan, CEO of Protean Electric stated, “This exciting new agreement will enable Protean Electric to fulfil its global potential, and to do so more rapidly. This acquisition will aid Protean Electric in establishing a strategic advantage in the new energy and mobility markets and bring in new expertise. Evergrande is a well-established and ambitious business, determined to make a mark in the clean mobility arena across the world. We look forward to working closely with the Evergrande and NEVS teams to deploy our technologies.”
Compared to conventional electrified powertrains, the highly integrated ProteanDrive in-wheel motors offer improved powertrain efficiency and greater flexibility in vehicle design. The high-torque density ProteanDrive technology combines a direct drive electric motor and power electronics, which can be utilised on a range of platforms, including passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, urban mobility vehicles and autonomous pods
