Abstract: A vehicle transmission comprising a vehicle chassis (10), a hub unit (20) for a driven wheel; a chassis mounted drive motor assembly (11) individual to the hub unit and pivoted to the chassis about an axis (12) passing through or adjacent to the center of gravity of the motor assembly; a shaft assembly connecting the drive motor assembly to a rotatable part (25) of the hub unit and comprising a shaft (31) connected to a fixed, constant-velocity, universal joint (26) at the outboard end of the shaft which is drivingly connected to the rotatable part of the hub unit; a wheel suspension (22, 23) connected between a non-rotatable part (21) of the hub unit and the chassis (10); and a rigid tube (19) connnecting the non-rotatable part of the hub unit to the motor assembly, the non-rotatable part (21) of the hub unit being pivotally mounted with respect tot the tube about the center of articulation of the universal joint and the shaft lying within said tube and being rigidly connected to the motor assembly.

Abstract: An electric motor assembly including a hub, a wheel rim having a rotary axis mounted on the hub to be rotatable about the rotary axis, a sun gear fixed to the hub or an annulus gear fixed to the rim, two or more electric motors each having a stator and a rotor, the rotors being rotatable about rotary axes parallel to the rotary axis of the rim, the stators of the motors being fixed to the rim if a sun gear is provided or fixed to the hub if an annulus gear is provided and being spaced apart equi-angularly around the rotary axis of the rim, and a planet gear driven by each rotor, each planet gear engaging the sun gear or the annulus gear whereby, when the rotors rotate, the rim is rotated on the hub about its rotary axis.