Protean Electric, a specialist of in-wheel motor (IWM) technology for passenger cars, light commercial vehicles and future transport solutions, has entered into a new partnership between Dongfeng Motor Corporation Technical Center (DFM Technical Center) and Wuxi Weifu Electric Drive Technology (WFDT).
DFM Technical Center and WFDT announced a partnership that will combine DFM’s expertise in distributed drive technology and Weifu’s industrialized manufacturing capability to advance production applications of Dongfeng’s Any-Drive technology, powered by ProteanDrive.
Mr. Andrew Whitehead, CEO of Protean Electric, said, “Protean has been working with Dongfeng Motor for many years and this partnership will accelerate the industrialization of ProteanDrive into DFM vehicle programs. We will continue to focus on technological innovation and product research and development, which will support DFM in enhancing its own technology and broader market positioning with in-wheel motors.”
Mr. Tan MingQiang, Director of DFM Technical Center, said, “Continuous technology innovation is the driving force behind the improvement of DFM’s market proposition, and essential to growing the industry and market for in-wheel motor technology. DFM Technical Center is committed to the ‘Technology Leap’ agenda, improving the quality and value of China’s domestic vehicle manufacturers. This collaboration will lead to breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields, and will both promote and realize in-wheel motor technology industrialization.”
Mr. Wang Xiaodong, Chairman of WFDT and WF Group, said: “In-wheel motors are an important technology in the transformation and development of WF Group, through our joint venture WFDT. WFDT is committed to the promotion of Protean’s IWM technology and is very much looking forward to IWM achieving widespread market application as soon as possible. We look forward to strengthening mutual understanding, deepening team communication and accelerating the market adoption of IWM through this project with DFM Technical Center.”
Protean’s successful partnerships with both DFM and Weifu Group span many years. Protean and DFM started to collaborate in 2016 and only last year, ProteanDrive successfully powered DFM’s E70 4WD to complete winter testing. In 2018, Weifu Group led Protean’s Series E funding round to support the Industrialization of ProteanDrive, which included the launch of the joint venture, WFDT, in China.
