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Automotive vocabulary · Electric Vehicles and Batteries

Traction motor

Meaning in automotive, with examples

nounCommon term

In automotive, traction motor means: The electric motor that drives the wheels of an electric or hybrid vehicle. Most modern cars use permanent magnet synchronous motors, though induction motors are also used.

In Turkish: çekiş motoru, tahrik motoru, elektrik motoru

How it is used

In everyday speech people say the electric motor or simply the motor; traction motor is the engineering term. Engineers talk about motor power, peak and continuous torque and motor efficiency. Many EVs combine the motor, inverter and gearbox in one drive unit.

Example sentences

  1. The rear traction motor delivers 210 kW and 400 Nm.

  2. We are testing a traction motor that uses no rare-earth magnets.

Common collocations

  • permanent magnet motor
  • electric drive unit
  • front traction motor
  • motor efficiency
  • inverterPower electronics that convert direct current (DC) from the battery into alternating current (AC) for the traction motor, controlling its speed and torque. During regenerative braking it works the other way.
  • electric vehicleA vehicle driven only by one or more electric motors that take energy from a rechargeable battery. It has no fuel tank and produces no exhaust emissions while driving.
  • regenerative brakingA way of slowing an electric or hybrid vehicle in which the electric motor works as a generator, turning the car's movement back into electricity that is stored in the battery.
  • powertrainAll the parts that create power and deliver it to the road wheels: the engine or electric motor, the transmission, the driveshafts and the differential.

More terms: Electric Vehicles and Batteries

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