The automotive industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity in electric vehicle (EV) drive planetary gears is driven by highly efficient and strong torque splitting, and growing importance of technologies such as integrated motor-transmission and smart gear systems. In the last three years alone, there have been over 720,000 patents filed and granted in the automotive industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Electric vehicles in automotive: EV drive planetary gearsBuy the report here.

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According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over one million patents to analyze innovation intensity for the automotive industry, there are 300+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.

EV drive planetary gears is a key innovation area in electric vehicles

EV drive planetary gears refers to the gear systems used in EVs with one or more electric motors to transmit power from the motor to the wheels. Planetary gears consist of a sun gear, a ring gear, and planet gears that rotate around the sun gear and mesh with the ring gear, providing a compact and efficient way to achieve different gear ratios.

GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 165+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established automotive companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of EV drive planetary gears.

Key players in EV drive planetary gears – a disruptive innovation in the automotive industry

‘Application diversity’ measures the number of applications identified for each patent. It broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.   

‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of countries each patent is registered in. It reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.  

Patent volumes related to EV drive planetary gears

Company Total patents (2021 - 2023) Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies
ebm-papst Mulfingen 10 Unlock Company Profile
Hyundai Mobis 5 Unlock Company Profile
American Axle & Manufacturing 10 Unlock Company Profile
Dana 10 Unlock Company Profile
Magna International 6 Unlock Company Profile
NTT 120 Unlock Company Profile
HL Mando 7 Unlock Company Profile
QinetiQ Group 28 Unlock Company Profile
Toyota Motor 24 Unlock Company Profile
IDEX 5 Unlock Company Profile
Schaeffler 10 Unlock Company Profile
Robert Bosch Stiftung 5 Unlock Company Profile
NSK 49 Unlock Company Profile
Hyundai Motor 5 Unlock Company Profile
Aisin 15 Unlock Company Profile
Nidec 10 Unlock Company Profile
Hitachi 11 Unlock Company Profile
Manitou BF 6 Unlock Company Profile
NTN 62 Unlock Company Profile
Honda Motor 166 Unlock Company Profile
Komatsu 7 Unlock Company Profile
Deere 15 Unlock Company Profile
Bayerische Motoren Werke 6 Unlock Company Profile
Yanmar 5 Unlock Company Profile
Amazon.com 20 Unlock Company Profile
Worthington Industries 5 Unlock Company Profile
James Halstead 6 Unlock Company Profile
Kia 5 Unlock Company Profile
Nikola 22 Unlock Company Profile
Samsung Group 8 Unlock Company Profile
Zeppelin-Stiftung 10 Unlock Company Profile
Saietta Group 7 Unlock Company Profile
BD Auto and energy 13 Unlock Company Profile

Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics

Honda Motor is one of the leading patent filers in EV drive planetary gears. and the company introduced digital twin technology to detect the combined fault of the sun gear missing teeth and the planetary gear missing teeth or pitting under different working conditions. Some other key patent filers in this space include NTT and NTN.

In terms of application diversity, Amazon.com leads the pack, while Samsung and American Axle stood in the second and third positions, respectively. By means of geographic reach, Nikola held the top position, followed by Amazon.com and Welltec.

To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the automotive industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Electric Vehicles (EV).

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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.

GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.