System, architecture, and method for minimizing power consumption and increasing performance in electric vehicles

A drive system for a vehicle, comprising:

• first and second electric motors having respective first and second output shafts, said first and second output shafts being coupled to a drive shaft through gear arrangements having respective gear ratios associated therewith to thereby define a parallel motor architecture, said drive shaft being configured for connection to a drive arrangement for driving at least one wheel;
• an electronic control unit (ECU) and a computer-readable memory coupled thereto;
• control logic stored in said memory and configured to be executed by said ECU, said control logic being configured to control said first and second motors in accordance with a predetermined operating strategy, said strategy including first, second and third modes of operation, wherein in said first mode of operation said first motor is active and said second motor is inactive, in said second mode of operation said first and second motors are active, and in said third mode of operation, said first motor is inactive and said second motor is active.

In a vehicle, a method of operating an electric motor arrangement configured to deliver power to an output drive shaft, comprising the steps of:

• operating the electric motor arrangement in a first, serially-coupled motor configuration in accordance with a set of operating parameters;
• and
• altering the first configuration to a second, parallel-coupled motor configuration when a change in one or more parameters in the set of operating parameters satisfy predetermined configuration-change criteria.