Wheel end assembly

A wheel end assembly for driving an individual wheel of a motor vehicle, said assembly comprising:

• a) a stationary, annular spindle, said spindle being operably affixable to said vehicle;
• b) an electric motor having a stator and a rotor, said rotor including a rotary output shaft, said motor being supported by said spindle and disposed inboard of and coaxially with said spindle;
• c) a wheel hub rotatably mounted to and coaxial with said spindle;
• d) a wheel hub cartridge bearing disposed between an enlarged diameter inboard portion of said spindle and said wheel hub, said wheel hub cartridge bearing being further disposed in surrounding relationship with a reduced diameter outboard portion of said spindle, said wheel hub being fixedly attached to a rotatable outer race of said wheel hub cartridge bearing;
• e) an inboard speed reduction gear set mounted within said enlarged diameter inboard portion of said spindle and coaxially with said spindle, said :inboard gear set connected coaxially between said output shaft of said motor and an intermediate shaft for rotating said intermediate shaft in response to rotation of said output shaft at a speed of rotation less than the speed of rotation of said output shaft;
• and
• f) an outboard speed reduction gear set which is coaxial with said spindle, said outboard gear set connected coaxially between said intermediate shaft and said wheel hub for rotating said wheel hub and said wheel of said vehicle, which is operably affixable to said wheel hub, at a speed of rotation which is less than the speed of rotation of said intermediate shaft.