Abstract: An electric drive for small vehicles, especially wheelchairs, includes a d.c. motor, which is arranged as a wheelhub motor in the running wheel of the small vehicle. Efficiency and manufacturing costs are improved, while ensuring simple assembly, wherein the possibility of automatically locking the running wheels is provided, along with a short and lightweight design. The d.c. motor is an external rotor motor, whose external rotor forms the wheelhub or the wheel rim of the running wheel. The stator of the d.c. motor is stationarily connected to the small vehicle via a brake housing (3). A central spring pressure brake is provided which can be released electromagnetically and manually and brakes the external rotor of the d.c. motor in the case of a power failure.