Electrified Automotive Propulsion Systems: State-of-the-Art Review

The increase in pollution and carbon dioxide in the transportation sector motivates many countries to establish rules to reduce the emission and carbon footprint. The partial or total electrification of the automotive propulsion system is mandatory to minimize the impact of transportation on the environment. There are multiple possible architectures to electrify the vehicle propulsion system, with different degrees of electrification, and each of the architectures can provide a different balance between energy efficiency, vehicle performance, comfort, drivability, and safety. This article aims to present the definition of the automotive propulsion system electrification, the various degrees of electrification and operation modes, and the possible configurations of an electrified propulsion system by the electric machine position. This article also introduces the definition of the subsystems of the propulsion systems and their components, with an explanation of the subsystem and each of their parts. Based on the state-of-the-art technology development, it intends to present the industry’s common sense and knowledge on automotive propulsion system electrification and proposes a process to follow in the electrified propulsion system architecture selection.