Donut Lab’s motor puts the electric drive unit at the wheel instead of inside the vehicle and sending power through a gearbox, differential, driveshafts, and half-shafts. The company’s most striking published specification is a 21-inch motor rated at up to 630 kW and 4,300 Nm, but those are manufacturer-published maximum figures for a particular configuration—not independently verified continuous output from a production car.
The idea could simplify vehicle packaging and give engineers direct control of torque at each wheel. Its central challenge is equally clear: putting a powerful motor in the wheel increases the mass and complexity that the suspension must control. Donut Lab’s technology is therefore promising, but its automotive significance depends on real-world validation of cooling, durability, unsprung mass, efficiency, and vehicle integration.
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A motor where the drivetrain normally ends
Most electric vehicles place their motors inside the body or close to an axle. The motor turns a reduction gear, which sends torque through a differential and half-shafts to the wheels. The exact arrangement varies—some EVs have one motor, some have two, and specialized vehicles may use other layouts—but the propulsion hardware is generally carried by the vehicle body rather than the wheel itself.
Donut Lab is pursuing a different architecture: a direct-drive in-wheel motor. The motor is integrated into the wheel area and drives the wheel without the conventional reduction gearbox and axle transmission normally used between a centrally mounted motor and the tire.
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In some applications, the motor has a ring-shaped, open-center design. That creates the distinctive hubless appearance associated with Verge Motorcycles. The terms are related but not interchangeable: “in-wheel motor” is the broad engineering category, while “hubless motor” describes an open-center arrangement. Not every in-wheel motor is hubless, and not every Donut Lab configuration necessarily has the same visible design.
Donut Lab’s argument is straightforward. Removing much of the mechanical power path can reduce parts, free packaging space, eliminate some maintenance items, and limit mechanical transmission losses. Those are plausible engineering advantages, but they are not automatic guarantees. The vehicle still needs an inverter, high-voltage wiring, cooling, brakes, suspension, structural mounts, sensors, control software, and a battery capable of supplying the required power.
Donut Lab’s published motor range
Donut Lab does not present one universal motor. Its product material describes a family of configurations for different wheel sizes and applications. The figures below are the company’s stated maximum ratings:
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| Configuration | Published maximum power | Published maximum torque | Published motor mass | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12-inch | 150 kW | 300 Nm | 8 kg | Compact configuration |
| 17-inch enclosed | 150 kW | 1,200 Nm | 21 kg | Enclosed wheel-end design |
| 17-inch open | 150 kW | 1,200 Nm | 21 kg | Open-center configuration associated with hubless applications |
| 21-inch | 630 kW | 4,300 Nm | 40 kg | Large, high-output configuration |
| Custom | Application-specific | Application-specific | Application-specific | Configured for the customer and vehicle |
| 5-inch drone motor | 3 kW | 20 Nm | 1.5 kg | Designed for drone applications |
The 21-inch motor is the source of the approximately 650-kW figure used in coverage of Donut Lab’s CES 2025 display. Donut Lab’s own published number is more precisely up to 630 kW, along with 4,300 Nm and a stated motor mass of 40 kg.
“Up to” matters. The published figures do not establish whether the power is continuous or peak, the duration for which it can be sustained, the voltage and current required, the thermal conditions, or the complete output of a production vehicle. They also do not show that every listed number can be achieved simultaneously under a standardized test cycle. A motor’s rating is only one part of a working powertrain.
Why the direct-drive layout is attractive
Fewer mechanical transmission parts
A centrally mounted EV motor typically needs reduction gearing because electric motors operate efficiently across a speed range that does not always match the wheel’s speed. It also needs a differential or other torque-distribution arrangement and half-shafts to reach the driven wheels.
An in-wheel direct-drive motor can remove or reduce much of that hardware. That could mean fewer gears, joints, shafts, seals, mounts, and lubrication points. Less hardware may reduce mechanical losses and maintenance requirements, although the outcome depends on the specific design and what new components are added at the wheel.
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More freedom for vehicle packaging
Moving propulsion into the wheel ends could free space between the axles and under the floor. That may be valuable in low-floor commercial vehicles, compact off-road machines, trailers, specialized work vehicles, and skateboard-style platforms where every centimeter of packaging matters.
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It could also make unusual vehicle layouts easier. A manufacturer might be able to vary the number of driven wheels without redesigning a conventional central drivetrain, or create more open space for batteries, cargo, passengers, or equipment. Whether that advantage outweighs the wheel-end penalties is a vehicle-by-vehicle question.
Independent wheel torque control
With an independently controlled motor at each wheel, a vehicle can command torque separately at the four corners. That creates opportunities for traction control, torque vectoring, stability management, and specialized low-speed control.
Donut Lab says its platform supports control at millisecond frequency and can improve traction and stability management. That is a company claim about the platform’s control capability, not independent proof of better handling in a road vehicle. The practical result would depend on controller latency, inverter response, wheel-speed and other sensors, tire grip, suspension movement, and the quality of the vehicle software.
Direct control cannot overcome a tire that has lost contact with the road. In fact, the suspension’s ability to keep the tire planted becomes even more important when the motor is part of the wheel assembly.
The biggest engineering problem is unsprung mass
Unsprung mass is the portion of a vehicle’s mass that the suspension does not support directly through the springs. It includes the tire and wheel, brake components, hub and bearing assemblies, and some suspension parts. A wheel motor adds the motor itself—and potentially its mounts, cabling, cooling components, and other hardware—to that wheel-end mass.
More unsprung mass makes it harder for the suspension to follow bumps and keep the tire in contact with uneven pavement. It can affect ride comfort, grip over rough surfaces, braking stability, steering response, and the loads transferred into suspension components. The problem is particularly significant for passenger cars, where ride quality and predictable handling matter as much as peak acceleration.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDonut Lab’s answer is power density. The company presents its compact, lightweight motors as a way to reduce the traditional penalty associated with hub motors. The 17-inch motor’s published 21-kg mass and the 21-inch motor’s stated 40-kg mass provide useful context, especially alongside their headline output figures.
But the motor number is not the same as the complete unsprung mass. The wheel, tire, brake rotor and caliper, bearings, structural supports, wiring, cooling connections, and any associated electronics must also be counted. A 21-kg motor does not mean a 21-kg wheel end. Suspension geometry, spring rates, damping, tire construction, and software calibration will determine the vehicle-level result.
This is why independent vehicle testing matters more than a motor brochure. A manufacturer could produce a remarkably light motor and still deliver an uncomfortable or poorly controlled vehicle if the rest of the wheel-end system is not designed around it.
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Thermal, impact, and serviceability challenges
High power produces heat. A wheel motor has to dissipate that heat near the road, where airflow, water, dirt, ice, and ambient temperature vary widely. The cooling arrangement must work without compromising sealing, suspension travel, wheel articulation, brake performance, or service access.
The wheel end is also exposed to pothole impacts, curb strikes, vibration, corrosion, debris, and crash loads. A conventional motor mounted inside the body is better isolated from many of those conditions. An in-wheel motor needs robust bearings, seals, structural interfaces, electrical protection, and impact tolerance.
Brake packaging is another practical issue. The motor occupies space that could otherwise be used for a conventional brake or hub assembly. Regenerative braking can reduce friction-brake use, but it cannot eliminate the need for dependable mechanical braking and emergency stopping capability. The final arrangement must also satisfy the regulations and service expectations of the target market.
Wheel replacement and roadside repair could be more involved as well. A vehicle maker would need to decide how the motor, wheel, brake, wiring, and suspension are separated during tire or collision service. These questions are not reasons the concept cannot work; they are reasons the complete vehicle architecture matters more than the motor’s standalone specifications.
What has actually been demonstrated?
The CES 2025 display in Las Vegas made the concept visible to a broad audience, and IEEE Spectrum described Donut Lab as a Finland-based company spun off from Verge Motorcycles. The display and the company’s specifications establish that Donut Lab has developed and presented a family of high-output wheel motors. They do not, by themselves, prove that a production car using the 21-inch, 630-kW configuration is ready for mass manufacture.
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Verge provides the clearest production precedent
The strongest documented evidence of real-world use is the Verge TS Pro electric motorcycle. Donut Lab says its 17-inch open motor has been in continuous production use with Verge, with customer deliveries beginning in early 2023. Verge’s product material describes a patented hubless rear-wheel motor that sends up to 1,000 Nm directly to the road and removes the chain and belt normally used on a motorcycle.
Verge’s November 4, 2025 announcement for the updated Donut Motor 2.0 said the second-generation motor retained the predecessor’s power and torque while reducing motor weight by 50 percent. That is meaningful evidence that the technology has progressed beyond a trade-show demonstration in at least one limited-production premium motorcycle application.
It is not proof of every automotive claim. A motorcycle has different wheel loads, suspension requirements, packaging constraints, thermal demands, crash standards, and production volumes from a passenger car or heavy truck. Verge shows that the basic concept can be deployed in a customer vehicle; it does not independently validate the maximum ratings of Donut Lab’s entire motor family.
WATT points toward a commercial EV application
Donut Lab and WATT Electric Vehicles announced the integration of Donut in-wheel motors and inverters into WATT’s lightweight WATT PACES EV platform. The announced plan called for a functional prototype at CES 2026, followed by a later four-wheel-drive variation.
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This is relevant because the PACES platform illustrates where in-wheel motors may have a practical advantage: a lightweight, purpose-built vehicle platform rather than a conventional car redesigned around a wheel motor after the fact. At the same time, the public announcement describes a development and prototype program. It should not be treated as evidence of series production, independently measured range, or completed vehicle performance.
Cova Power expands the business-to-business strategy
Donut Lab also describes Cova Power, a joint venture with Ahola Group, as a program focused on series-production smart trailers using Donut in-wheel motors, Donut batteries, and Donut platform software.
Donut Lab and the joint venture claim reductions in diesel consumption and total energy use for the trailer application. Those claims are commercially interesting, but the evidence reviewed here does not establish independently audited fleet results. The trailer program also shows that Donut Lab is positioning itself as a broader technology supplier—providing motors, batteries, inverters or control hardware, and software—rather than merely selling a replacement hub motor.
How to interpret the headline numbers
| Headline claim | What it supports | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 630 kW | A published maximum for Donut Lab’s 21-inch configuration | Continuous road power, vehicle acceleration, or production-car output |
| Up to 4,300 Nm | A published maximum torque figure for the same 21-inch configuration | That the tire can transmit all of it to the road without traction limits |
| 21 kg for the 17-inch motor | The company’s stated motor mass for its 17-inch open and enclosed versions | The mass of the complete wheel, tire, brakes, mounts, wiring, and suspension assembly |
| Millisecond-frequency control | Donut Lab’s claim about the platform’s control capability | Improved handling without vehicle-level tests of sensors, software, tires, and suspension |
| Production use with Verge | A documented customer motorcycle application | Validation of every motor size or readiness for mass-market cars |
Power and torque should not be treated as interchangeable measures. Torque describes twisting force; power describes how quickly work can be performed and depends on both torque and rotational speed. A very high torque figure may be useful for launch and low-speed work, but the battery, inverter, tire, gearing—or lack of gearing—and motor operating speed all affect what the vehicle can actually do.
Could Donut Lab replace a conventional EV drivetrain?
For some vehicles, potentially. The best fit is likely to be a purpose-designed platform where packaging flexibility, all-wheel torque control, low floor height, or compact wheel-end propulsion is worth the added engineering effort. Commercial vehicles, trailers, specialty off-road machines, robotics, and some lightweight mobility products may be more receptive than mainstream passenger cars.
For a conventional family car, the decision is more difficult. A centrally mounted motor can be isolated from impacts, kept within a controlled thermal environment, and supported by a mature supply chain for transmissions, brakes, bearings, and suspension components. It may also offer a better ride and handling compromise once the entire system is considered.
Donut Lab’s approach could reduce mechanical losses and component count, but it may increase demands on the wheel structure, electronics, cooling, sealing, suspension tuning, and service network. The right comparison is therefore not “motor versus no motor.” It is a complete in-wheel vehicle against a complete conventional EV, measured over durability, efficiency, cost, ride, handling, braking, repairability, and regulatory compliance.
What evidence is still missing?
The public material reviewed for Donut Lab does not provide a complete independent test report for the automotive motor family. It also does not establish:
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- A vehicle-level efficiency comparison with a conventional EV drivetrain under the same conditions.
- Independent durability results covering potholes, impacts, water, corrosion, vibration, and long-term wheel-end loads.
- Complete unsprung-mass measurements for a finished vehicle rather than the motor alone.
- Production scale, pricing, service procedures, or homologation status for a passenger car using these motors.
- Independent confirmation of the claimed traction, stability, diesel-consumption, or total-energy benefits in customer fleets.
Until those data are available, the most accurate description is a high-output in-wheel motor platform with a documented motorcycle production precedent and announced vehicle-development partnerships. That is more substantial than a concept sketch, but narrower than proof that the design is ready to replace conventional EV drivetrains across the automotive market.
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Who is Donut Lab actually selling to?
This is primarily a business-to-business technology proposition. The likely customers are vehicle manufacturers, specialty motorcycle companies, commercial-vehicle developers, trailer builders, drone and aviation companies, robotics firms, marine operators, and engineering integrators.
It is not a normal consumer upgrade part. A Donut Lab motor cannot simply be installed in an existing car by replacing its wheel hub. The vehicle would require a compatible high-voltage battery, inverter, control software, suspension and brake design, structural mounts, cooling, safety systems, and regulatory certification.
That distinction also separates Donut Lab’s product from a consumer electric bike hub motor conversion kit. Both put electric propulsion near the wheel, but an e-bike kit is a low-power conversion product designed around bicycle frames and controls. It is a useful visual example of the hub-motor idea, not a substitute for Donut Lab’s automotive or motorcycle hardware and not evidence that the two systems are interchangeable.
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Donut Lab’s new motor is notable because it combines direct drive, a compact ring-shaped form, unusually ambitious published output figures, and a platform strategy spanning motors, inverters, batteries, and software. The 17-inch motorcycle application with Verge is the clearest evidence that the concept has reached customer production, while the WATT and Cova Power programs show how the company is pursuing commercial and specialized vehicles.
The unresolved issue is not whether a motor can be placed at the wheel. It can. The question is whether Donut Lab can deliver the promised system-level advantages without allowing unsprung mass, heat, impact exposure, brake packaging, durability, serviceability, and cost to outweigh the benefits. For now, the technology is best viewed as an ambitious and credible development platform—not as independently proven evidence that every future EV should use hub motors.
Evidence note: the specifications and application claims above are attributed to Donut Lab and its partners where indicated. The production precedent comes from Verge Motorcycles’ product and announcement material, while CES coverage was reported by IEEE Spectrum. No independent vehicle-level validation of every published configuration was established in the reviewed material.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Donut Lab’s 630-kW motor already powering a production car?
The reviewed evidence does not establish that. Donut Lab publishes the 630-kW figure for a 21-inch motor configuration, but the documented production application is Verge’s motorcycle. WATT’s PACES relationship was announced as a prototype and development program rather than a mass-production car launch.
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Is every in-wheel motor hubless?
No. In-wheel motor is the broad category. Hubless describes an open-center design, such as the configuration associated with Verge’s motorcycles. A motor can be mounted within the wheel area without having a visibly open center.
What is the main disadvantage of a wheel-hub motor?
The principal concern is added unsprung mass. The motor becomes part of the wheel-end assembly, making suspension tuning and tire contact more difficult. Thermal management, impact protection, brake packaging, sealing, durability, and serviceability are also major considerations.
Does Donut Lab’s motor eliminate the entire EV drivetrain?
No. It can eliminate or reduce much of the mechanical transmission between a centrally mounted motor and the wheels, including some gearing, differentials, shafts, and joints. The vehicle still needs batteries, inverters, wiring, cooling, brakes, suspension, bearings, structural mounts, sensors, and software.
Can an existing car be converted to use a Donut Lab motor?
Not as a simple wheel or hub replacement. A conversion would require a compatible high-voltage power system, motor controllers, software, structural and suspension changes, braking integration, thermal management, safety engineering, and regulatory approval.
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The Bottom Line
Donut Lab has demonstrated a serious in-wheel-motor platform and has a real production motorcycle precedent through Verge. Its 630-kW and 4,300-Nm figures remain published maximum specifications, not independent proof of a production automotive powertrain. The technology’s future will be decided by complete-vehicle results—especially unsprung mass, cooling, durability, efficiency, ride quality, and serviceability.
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