Design, Construction, and Simulation-Based Validation of a High-Efficiency Electric Powertrain for a Shell Eco-Marathon Urban Concept Vehicle

This study addresses a documented gap in detailed, cost-effective, and performance-validated electric vehicle (EV) powertrain solutions. It presents the complete design, construction, and simulation-based validation of a high-efficiency electric powertrain for a Shell Eco-marathon Urban Concept vehicle. Novel contributions of this work include a unique drivetrain architecture: a BLDC motor with a modular two-stage chain drive and a custom lithium-ion battery pack. The design is optimized for compactness and reliability under stringent budget and packaging constraints. A comprehensive Simulink-based vehicle dynamics model was developed for robust validation. This model enabled the estimation of energy consumption, torque profiles, and battery State of Charge under realistic drive cycles. The system demonstrated a remarkably low energy consumption under competition conditions, signifying high efficiency with <50 Wh/km consumption and full compliance with technical regulations. Furthermore, the hardware is thoroughly documented with detailed build instructions, CAD models, and a full bill of materials. This promotes reproducibility. This research offers a validated, low-cost, and replicable electric powertrain. It provides a transferable framework for future Shell Eco-marathon teams and advances lightweight, cost-effective solutions for real-world low-speed electric mobility applications, such as micro-EVs and urban delivery vehicles.