Mercedes-in-Drive is considering moving the brakes to the electric motor of the EV

The future Mercedes-Benz Ev may not have a brake sitting behind the wheel.

Engineers at Mercedes-Benz in Germany showed the Motor Authority the latest EV drivetrain innovation called Indrive. This is a newly developed system that moves the brakes from behind the wheel to the inside of the EV's motor casing. Mercedes internally calls the system the "brake of the future.""

The engineers told MA short stop of confirming the timeline for production and production, although the Indrive system is already in active testing

Indrive is still a friction-based brake system and is equipped with pads and metal rotors and uses pressure to control the vehicle. Slow down. However, the entire system is sealed and enclosed in the housing of the EV drive unit. The rotor and pad reserve the electric motor within the metal housing. To keep things cool because there is no air flow, the system is water cooled, but because the unit needs to drain a lot of heat without a radiator, the engineers are still playing with a variety of fluids and viscosities.

According to the Mercedes engineering team, only about 2% of the brakes in EVs are mechanical, and 98% can be handled with regenerative brakes.

Today's EQS can regenerate up to 290kw through a regenerative braking system, while tomorrow's 2026 CLA class EV will regenerate 200kw.

This type of system, which is said to be designed for a vehicle life span that Mercedes defines as 15 years or 186,400 miles, reduces operating costs and lasts longer than today's brake pads because the system's pads encompass the entire disk and therefore have more surface area.

Mercedes has designed a system that can be mounted at the center of the front axle sans electric motor for single-motor rear-wheel drive applications. When the brake system is moved to the center of the vehicle, the sub-spring mass is displaced and removed, which improves handling.

Mercedes said today that the system is more expensive than conventional brakes, but the goal is to lower the cost so that it is comparable to conventional brakes.

Mercedes-Benz paid for travel and accommodation for Motor authority to bring you this report