Integrated Electric Axle Patents: Leaders & Filing Trends 2026
Filing growth compares 2021 (270 records) with 2024 (263) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 5,534 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What the integrated electric axle patent record actually shows
An integrated electric axle combines motor, gearing, and often braking or suspension functions into a single driveline module rather than a collection of separately mounted components. The 5,534 records in scope span filings from 2015 through the 2026 data cut-off, drawn from a search string built around the exact phrase and its component terms. Coverage runs across China, the United States, Europe, Germany and the PCT route, which means the picture includes both domestic Chinese utility filings and internationally prosecuted families.
The technology composition leans heavily toward propulsion and gearing: B60K vehicle propulsion and drive appears in 30.8% of records, more than three times the share of the next largest class. Braking (B60T), motors and generators (H02K), and wheel-and-tyre integration (B60B) each sit in a comparable 8-9% band, while suspension integration (B60G) trails at 4.8% — a gap worth checking before assuming every adjacent chassis function is already claimed.
Filing trends and technology classes behind the numbers
The figures below come directly from the 5,534 records in scope and the IPC subclasses attached to them. Because a single record can carry several classes, the class shares add up to more than 100% — that is expected, not a data error.
Filing volume peaked in 2017 and has since settled
Annual filings hit their high point at 362 records in 2017, then eased over subsequent years. Comparing the last two complete years available for growth analysis, 2021 (270 records) to 2024 (263 records), volume moved by -3% — essentially flat rather than a genuine decline. 2025 and 2026 figures are still filling in, since publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so treat the most recent two years as underreported rather than as evidence of a slowdown.
Propulsion and gearing claims crowd the field; suspension trails
B60K (vehicle propulsion & drive) leads at 30.8% of the 5,534 records in scope, with B60L (electric vehicle propulsion), B62D (motor vehicles & steering), F16H (gearing & transmissions) and B60T (vehicle brakes & braking) each in the 9-10% range. B60B (wheels & tyres) sits at 8.4% and B60G (suspension) at 4.8%, the smallest of the eight subclasses tracked — a signal for where integration claims are comparatively less contested.
Shares are the percentage of the 5,534 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on EV Platform & Chassis: Integrated Electric Axle Patent Landscape with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about ev platform & chassis: integrated electric axle patent landscape and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaA representative filing and the most-cited prior art
Gearbox for vehicle electric axle and integrated electric axle
The application describes a gearbox for a vehicle electric axle built around an output shaft carrying gear-driven gears and an output drive gear, a drive shaft carrying an independently rotatable output driven gear meshed with the output drive gear, and a pair of balance shafts each with input gears fixed to synchronize rotation. The structure is aimed at packaging multiple gear-shift positions and balance-shaft damping within a single electric axle housing.Filed by Robert Bosch GmbH, published 2024-03-07 as WO2024046659A1.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20130201316A1 | System and method for server based control | 1,727 |
| 2 | US20030230443A1 | Advanced composite hybrid-electric vehicle | 407 |
| 3 | US4533011A | Hybrid drive for a vehicle, in particular an automobile | 350 |
| 4 | US6516914B1 | Integrated vehicle suspension, axle and frame assembly | 308 |
| 5 | US20150271201A1 | Device for detection and prevention of an attack on a vehicle | 280 |
| 6 | WO2017149526A2 | A method and apparatus for cooperative usage of multiple distance meters | 252 |
| 7 | US20200332784A1 | Double-motor double-pump electric drive fracturing semi-trailer | 214 |
| 8 | US20190369641A1 | Robot and drone array | 196 |
| 9 | US4217970A | Configuration and construction of four wheeled motor vehicles | 188 |
| 10 | US5778765A | Beverage brewing apparatus | 181 |
Citation counts reflect influence within this searched corpus and skew toward older filings; they are not a measure of current commercial relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
Put your own technology through the same analysis
Eureka on the web
When you want the answer in the next five minutes.
The agent works the prompt against patents and technical literature, citing every source.
Run your analysis now →MCP server & REST API
When it has to run inside your own pipeline.
Patent search, landscape analysis and assignee resolution as MCP tools. Drop them into any agent framework, or call REST directly.
Browse MCP servers →What the concentration and citation data mean for filing strategy
Three patterns stand out once the ranking, the trend, and the citation table are read together: the field is not owned by a handful of players, growth has levelled rather than fallen, and influence in the corpus still traces back to decades-old vehicle architecture patents.
The leaderboard is wide, not narrow
The ranked leader holds 106 records and the top 5 combined reach only 6.8% of the 5,534 records in scope. Even the top 10 combined reach just 10.4%. That is a long tail of assignees each holding modest positions, not a market locked up by two or three suppliers.
Volume has levelled since the 2017 peak
Filings peaked at 362 in 2017 and have since settled; 2021 to 2024 shows a -3% shift, essentially flat. Because publication lags filing by around 18 months, 2025 and 2026 figures will fill in further and should not yet be read as a downturn.
Propulsion and gearing dominate; suspension is thinner
B60K vehicle propulsion and drive covers nearly a third of records, well ahead of the 9-10% bands occupied by EV propulsion, steering, gearing and braking classes. B60G suspension integration, at 4.8%, is the lightest-claimed of the eight tracked subclasses.
Old vehicle-architecture patents still anchor the field
The most-cited record in the corpus is a server-based vehicle control system cited 1,727 times, and a 1985 hybrid-drive patent still draws 350 citations. High citation counts here mark foundational architecture concepts rather than current best practice.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to ev platform & chassis: integrated electric axle patent landscape, with the prior art for and against each one.
Turning this landscape into a filing or freedom-to-operate decision
The record counts and class shares above describe where claim density sits today. Deciding whether to file, license or design around requires reading the actual claim language behind the busiest subclasses and the specific families a competitor holds.
Map claim scope inside B60K and F16H
Gearing and propulsion carry the densest claim coverage in this dataset. Before drafting in these subclasses, pull the independent claims of the closest-matching families rather than relying on class-level density alone.
Explore claims in Eureka →Check assignee positions before partnering or licensing
With no single filer holding more than a modest share of records, a target technology may sit with a supplier rather than an OEM. Confirm who actually holds the family before opening licensing talks.
Search assignees in Eureka →Watch B60G suspension integration for open claim space
At 4.8% of records, suspension integration is the least-claimed of the tracked subclasses. That does not guarantee freedom to operate, but it is worth a dedicated prior-art pull before assuming the space is occupied.
Run a white space search in Eureka →Common questions about integrated electric axle patents
The assignee ranking for this dataset covers 100 companies, and the leader holds 106 of the 5,534 records in scope. No single company dominates the field, however: the top 5 assignees combined account for only 6.8% of all records, and the top 10 combined reach 10.4%. That pattern points to a fragmented supplier and OEM landscape rather than one or two companies controlling the core technology.
Filing volume peaked at 362 records in 2017 and has since settled rather than continued climbing. Comparing 2021 (270 records) to 2024 (263 records), the most recent span that can be treated as complete, shows a -3% change, essentially flat. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the 2025 and 2026 counts in any dataset will understate actual filing activity and should not be read as a decline.
The largest share of records falls under B60K, vehicle propulsion and drive, covering 30.8% of the 5,534 records in scope. Electric vehicle propulsion (B60L), motor vehicle steering (B62D), gearing and transmissions (F16H), and vehicle brakes (B60T) each sit in a 9-10% band. Suspension integration (B60G) is the smallest tracked category at 4.8%, suggesting comparatively lighter claim density in that specific integration path.
WO2024046659A1, filed by Robert Bosch GmbH and published 2024-03-07, describes a gearbox for a vehicle electric axle built around an output shaft with gear-driven gears and a fixed output drive gear, a drive shaft carrying an independently rotatable output driven gear, and a pair of balance shafts with fixed input gears for synchronized rotation. The claims are specific to this gear and shaft arrangement rather than to integrated electric axles generally. Anyone designing a multi-speed electric axle gearbox with balance-shaft damping should review the independent claims directly rather than relying on the abstract alone.
China leads with 1,640 filings in this dataset, followed by the United States at 1,172 and the European Patent Office at 716. WIPO's PCT route accounts for 344 filings, with Germany at 249 and Austria at 233. The heavy China and US concentration reflects both large domestic EV supply chains and the international prosecution strategies of major automotive and driveline suppliers.
Research EV Platform & Chassis: Integrated Electric Axle Patent Landscape in depth with Eureka
Go past this page: query the whole ev platform & chassis: integrated electric axle patent landscape corpus yourself, in your own scope.
Every answer comes back with patent numbers you can open.
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.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.