Electric Drivetrain for Off-Highway Vehicles Patent Landscape
This is a small, highly concentrated corpus dominated by CNH Industrial and a handful of agricultural-equipment incumbents and academic co-filers, with the United States as the near-exclusive filing jurisdiction. Annual filings peaked in 2021 and have eased since, placing the field in a post-peak phase on a multi-year basis.
CNH Industrial leads a tightly held, incumbent-driven corpus
CNH Industrial America LLC holds the top position in the ranking, followed by Regents of the University of Minnesota and Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. The top five filers account for 81% of the combined total among the hundred largest filers, signaling a high degree of concentration for such a nascent body of work.
The tier gap between the top applicant and the rest is pronounced: CNH Industrial America LLC holds 5 patent records, with the next two filers each holding 3 and 2 respectively. Below that, multiple entities share a single filing each, confirming a steep drop-off and limited mid-tier competition.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CNH Industrial America LLC | 5 | |
| 2 | Regents of the University of Minnesota | 3 | |
| 3 | Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation | 2 | |
| 4 | DEERE & CO | 2 | |
| 5 | CNH Industrial Italia SpA | 1 | |
| 6 | Potential Motors Inc | 1 | |
| 7 | CNH (China) Management Co Ltd | 1 | |
| 8 | Power Technology Holdings LLC | 1 |
CNH Industrial’s position — reinforced by affiliated entities CNH Ind Italia SpA and CNH (China) Management Co Ltd — suggests a coordinated global IP strategy within the CNH group, giving it structural depth that individual challengers currently lack.
The most recent 18–24 months of filing data are subject to publication lag and likely under-count actual activity; any apparent absence of filings in 2025–2026 should not be read as a cessation of R&D. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A 2021 peak followed by easing volume; propulsion hardware dominates the technology mix
The filing trend and IPC composition together reveal a field that burst into activity around 2020–2021 and has since moderated, with a technology mix firmly anchored in vehicle propulsion and electric motor hardware.
Annual filing trend
Filings were negligible before 2018, rose to a peak of 4 in 2021, and have trended lower since. The 2023 and 2024 data points are almost certainly under-counted due to publication lag; interpret the post-2022 period with caution rather than reading a definitive decline.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
B60L (electric vehicle propulsion) and B60K (vehicle propulsion and drive) are the dominant IPC branches, reflecting a focus on core drivetrain architecture. Secondary presence in E02F (excavating and earth-moving) and F04B (positive-displacement pumps) underscores the off-highway and hydraulic-integration angle. Branches such as F16H (gearing), B60W (hybrid control), and H01M (batteries) each carry only a single record, pointing to relatively thin coverage outside the propulsion core.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaHighly cited patent families surfaced by the query
Citation-heavy patent families returned by the query. Use this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents.
Electric vehicle control system
Method and system that includes receiving data about (1) a driver’s expected vehicle performance and (2) a difference between the driver’s expected vehicle performance and an estimated actual vehicle performance, and based on the received data determining control signals for an electric drivetrain system to effect the driver’s expected vehicle performance… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
Open this patent in Eureka →| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electric drive system with multiple separate elect… | 16 |
| 2 | Electric generator for electric vehicle | 6 |
| 3 | An electric work vehicle having an electric drivet… | 4 |
| 4 | Integrated electric-to-hydraulic conversion machine | 3 |
| 5 | Electric drive system with multiple separate elect… | 3 |
| 6 | Electric drivetrain and component storage configur… | 2 |
Ranked by total forward citations. Citation counts favour older and broadly cited patent families, and broad or adjacent patents may appear when they match the search scope. Treat this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents. Some patent titles may be shown in their original, non-English language where an accurate translation could not be guaranteed.
What the structure means for R&D investment decisions
The corpus is small and concentrated, which limits the risk of inadvertent infringement in peripheral areas but also signals that fundamental patents from the 2020–2021 cohort could create Freedom-to-Operate constraints in core propulsion routes.
Post-peak phase: foundational filings made, pace now easing
The lifecycle stage is classified as Decline, with annual filings easing back from the 2021 peak. On a multi-year window the field is still active, but the earlier burst of foundational claiming appears to have run its course. Entrants arriving now face an established prior-art base in core propulsion architectures rather than a blank slate.
Post-peakTop five filers hold 81% of the leading hundred filers’ combined total
The top five filers account for 81% of the combined total among the hundred largest filers, with CNH Industrial America LLC alone holding the single largest block of patent records. This level of concentration in a corpus of 12 patent families means that a small number of Freedom-to-Operate issues could materially affect an entrant’s design space. Challengers and new entrants should map CNH group claims early in any program plan.
High concentrationAcademic–industry co-filing pairs anchor ecosystem activity
The most active co-filing pair is the Regents of the University of Minnesota and Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, who share 2 co-filed records focused on motor and pump technology. Within the CNH group, CNH Industrial America LLC co-files with both CNH Industrial Belgium (CNH Ind Italia SPA’s affiliate) and CNH (China) Management Co Ltd, reflecting coordinated intra-group portfolio building. These pairings suggest that academic partnerships are a meaningful sourcing channel for foundational motor and hydraulic IP in this space.
Academic co-filingUS-dominant filing with minimal international coverage
Nine of the patent records are filed in the United States, with two PCT applications and one Canadian filing accounting for the remainder. The near-absence of European, Japanese, or Chinese national-phase entries is notable given the global off-highway equipment market; it may reflect the early stage of commercialization or deliberate portfolio concentration in the home market. Jurisdictions outside North America represent a relatively unclaimed space at present.
US-centricGo beyond the landscape: Eureka’s TRIZ Solution agent breaks down an R&D problem and returns patented concept solutions, each with a technical approach and cited patent & literature evidence.
| Applicant | Collaborator | Co-filings |
|---|---|---|
| Regents of the University of Minnesota | Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation | 2 |
| CNH Industrial America LLC | CNH Industrial Belgium NV | 1 |
| CNH Industrial America LLC | CNH (China) Management Co Ltd | 1 |
| CNH Industrial Belgium NV | CNH (China) Management Co Ltd | 1 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
CNH Industrial leads on breadth; University of Minnesota anchors motor and pump research
Two clusters define the competitive structure: an OEM incumbent group led by CNH Industrial with cross-geography filings, and an academic cluster anchored by the University of Minnesota focused on motor and hydraulic-pump fundamentals.
CNH Industrial America LLC
CNH Industrial America LLC holds 5 patent records, the largest block in the corpus, with a technology emphasis spanning B60K (vehicle propulsion and drive), B60L (electric vehicle propulsion), and E02F (excavating and earth-moving) — a combination that reflects direct application to agricultural and construction equipment. The applicant momentum signal shows a new-entrant trajectory for its recent filing window, suggesting the group is actively building its position rather than coasting on legacy filings. Affiliated entities CNH Ind Italia SpA and CNH (China) Management Co Ltd add further records under a coordinated group strategy.
patent records: 5Regents of the University of Minnesota
The Regents of the University of Minnesota hold 3 patent records, concentrated in F04B (positive-displacement pumps) and H02K (electric motors and generators) — a technically deep focus on electro-hydraulic machine fundamentals rather than system-level vehicle integration. Their active co-filing with Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (2 shared records) amplifies their effective footprint in motor and pump IP. This academic positioning makes them a potential licensing source for OEMs seeking foundational motor or hydraulic-electric conversion claims.
patent records: 3| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| CNH Industrial America LLC | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| Power Technology Holdings LLC | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
How leaders differ by technology route
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | B60L 50 · Electric vehicle propulsion | B60L 15 · Electric vehicle propulsion | B60K 1 · Vehicle propulsion & drive | B60K 6 · Vehicle propulsion & drive | B60L 1 · Electric vehicle propulsion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNH Industrial America LLC | Strong · 3 | Moderate · 1 | Strong · 3 | Absent | Moderate · 1 |
| Deere & Company | Moderate · 1 | Strong · 2 | Absent | Strong · 2 | Strong · 2 |
| CNH (China) Management Co Ltd | Strong · 1 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Strong · 1 |
| CNH Industrial Belgium NV | Strong · 1 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Strong · 1 |
| Power Technology Holdings LLC | Strong · 1 | Absent | Absent | Strong · 1 | Absent |
| Potential Motors Inc | Absent | Strong · 1 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus comprises 12 patent families in scope. This is a small body of work, which means individual filings carry relatively high strategic weight and the landscape can shift materially with even a handful of new applications.
CNH Industrial America LLC is the top filer, holding 5 patent records — the largest single block in the corpus. Affiliated CNH group entities (CNH Ind Italia SpA and CNH (China) Management Co Ltd) add further records, reinforcing the group’s structural lead.
The field is classified as Decline, with annual filings easing back from the 2021 peak. The most recent filing years are subject to publication lag and likely under-count actual activity, so the apparent drop in 2023–2024 should not be read as a definitive end to R&D investment.
The United States accounts for 9 of the patent records, with 2 PCT (WIPO) applications and 1 Canadian filing making up the remainder. European, Asian, and other regional jurisdictions are not represented in the current corpus.
Yes. The University of Minnesota and Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation are the most active co-filers, sharing 2 records focused on motor and pump technology. Within the CNH group, CNH Industrial America LLC co-files with CNH Industrial Belgium and CNH (China) Management Co Ltd, reflecting intra-group coordination.
F16H (gearing and transmissions), B60W (hybrid and joint vehicle control), B62D (motor vehicles and steering), B60B (vehicle wheels and tyres), and H02J (power supply and grid systems) each carry only one or two records, representing the thinnest coverage in the corpus relative to the dominant B60L and B60K propulsion branches.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from PatSnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
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