The fact that electric cars don’t have any transmissions (apart from the sometimes-indispensable differential) is just a legend – but one that persists quite stubbornly in the public eye. It assumes that the electric motor does not require any gear ratio given its stable torque. In practice, however, it is usually the case that a so-called 1-speed gearbox is used, which helps reduce the speed of the electric motor by a certain factor. As a result, there are numerous gearing elements on components such as the drive shaft, rotor shaft or axle drive, and their component quality must be exceptional so that, for example, there are no loud running noises – these would be audible given the quiet electric motor. Read more: