As the penetration rate of China's electric vehicle market exceeds 50% and further expands globally, more and more electric vehicle maintenance work will follow, and hub motor technology has become the mainstream configuration of brands such as Yadea and BYD. Unlike traditional gearboxes, hub motor gearboxes need to cope with extreme temperature differences of -30℃ to 150℃, rain erosion and high-frequency start-stop impact, which puts higher requirements on grease. This article will combine the latest electric vehicle industry data and vehicle model cases to analyze some guidelines for gear grease selection.
Anti-slip properties: high-speed planetary gears (such as Tesla Model 3 hub motor version) need to have adhesion that meets ASTM D1264 standards;
Extreme pressure and anti-wear: BYD Han EV uses grease containing sulfur and phosphorus compounds, which can withstand 2942MPa tooth surface load;
Wide temperature adaptation: northern users should choose models that still maintain fluidity at -40℃ (such as GL-4 grade);
Noise reduction design: Yadea electric vehicle special grease contains molybdenum disulfide, which reduces noise by 15dB.
Vehicle type Grease characteristics Representative vehicle High-speed geared motor NLGI 00 grade low viscosity grease Tesla Cybertruck hub version Heavy-duty gearless motor Polyurea grease + PTFE additive BYD Yangwang U8 modified performance motor GLM-4 synthetic grease resistant to 160℃ Zeekr 001 FR.
When using grease, the following points should also be noted:
Apply in accordance with the specification. After cleaning the gearbox, 60%-70% of the tooth surface gap should be evenly filled to avoid excessive heat dissipation;
Avoid mixing different types of grease to avoid performance degradation;
Regular maintenance. It is recommended to replace the grease every 1-2 years or 20,000 kilometers, and adjust the replacement cycle according to the working conditions;
Never replace special grease with ordinary butter to avoid gear wear due to insufficient performance.
Through scientific and reasonable selection and correct use of grease, the performance of electric vehicle hub motors will be significantly improved, providing users with safer, more reliable and efficient protection for travel.
In 2025, the global automotive grease market will reach US$1.287 billion, with China accounting for 50% of the market share. Therefore, as the current market share data, electric car owners can refer to the following suggestions:
Original maintenance: follow the manual cycle (such as Lixiang L9 every 200,000 kilometers);
Third-party products: look for lubricants with global brand awareness and guarantees such as Great Wall and Mobil;
Extreme environment: add low-temperature flow agent or waterproof coating.
The above data is partly derived from the latest report of the China Society of Automotive Engineers and the SAE Association in 2025. For more specific model parameters, please check your car maintenance manual.
