Designing Efficient Systems for Light Electric Vehicles

It’s not just electric cars redefining transportation. Across city streets, bike lanes, and delivery routes, a quieter revolution is taking place. Light electric vehicles (LEVs)—everything from e-bikes and mopeds to last-mile cargo haulers—are reshaping how people and goods move in crowded, energy-conscious environments.

But behind the handlebars of this movement are a lot of electronics. These compact vehicles need to be lightweight yet powerful, efficient yet responsive, and—most of all—smart. For engineers, that means designing control systems, power electronics, and battery interfaces that punch far above their size and cost class.

Unlike their automotive cousins, LEVs live at the intersection of tight constraints and rising expectations. And meeting those demands starts with the right architecture—one that integrates battery management, motor control, and human-machine interfaces without compromise.

LEV Basics

An LEV typically operates at voltages between 12 V and 72 V and is optimized for urban use, with limited top speeds and ranges under 100 km. Unlike larger electric vehicles, LEVs must be lightweight and cost-effective, with tightly integrated electronic systems. Yet they still require the same fundamental building blocks: efficient motor control, safe and accurate battery management, reliable user interfaces, and intelligent power distribution.

What makes LEVs unique is the trade-off between simplicity and performance. A scooter or e-bike might not need the complexity of an automotive-grade ECU, but it still demands robust protection, functional safety, and seamless integration between motor, battery, and user interface.

Key Subsystems: More Than Just a Battery and Motor

1. Battery Management System (BMS)

LEVs often rely on lithium-ion battery packs, which must be carefully monitored and balanced to prevent overcharging, deep discharging, and thermal runaway. A reliable BMS ensures cell-level monitoring, temperature sensing, current protection, and in many cases, passive or active balancing.

Designing a BMS for an LEV involves several challenges:

• Compact PCB layouts with low power consumption

• Accurate voltage and current measurement across multiple cells

• Communication interfaces (e.g., CAN, LIN, UART) to the main controller

• Protection mechanisms for short circuit, overcurrent, and overvoltage

Infineon’s portfolio supports these needs with integrated battery monitoring ICs and AURIX™ and TRAVEO™ T2G microcontrollers, which provide the real-time processing and safety diagnostics required in modern BMS implementations.

2. Motor Inverter / Traction Control

Motor control is the heart of any LEV. These vehicles typically use brushless DC (BLDC) or permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM) to achieve higher efficiency and torque density. The inverter circuit is responsible for generating the correct voltage and current waveform to control motor speed and direction.

Efficient inverter design hinges on:

• Fast-switching, low-R_DS(on) MOSFETs or IGBTs (depending on power level)

• Gate driver ICs with protection features (undervoltage lockout, shoot-through prevention)

• High-resolution PWM generation and feedback loops

Infineon’s portfolio includes low- and medium-voltage MOSFETs (such as OptiMOS™) that combine high efficiency with rugged reliability. Coupled with their configurable gate driver ICs and microcontrollers with dedicated motor control peripherals, these devices enable smoother acceleration, regenerative braking, and overall better energy use.

3. Smart Cluster / User Interface

The human-machine interface (HMI) in LEVs is evolving from simple LEDs and buzzers to full smart clusters featuring TFT displays, speedometers, range indicators, and Bluetooth connectivity. These interfaces must be low-power yet responsive, often running real-time operating systems or lightweight embedded GUIs.

Key requirements for HMI systems include:

• Touchscreen control and graphical display capabilities

• Low power draw during sleep mode

• Secure firmware updates (especially for connected systems)

• Functional safety compliance in some applications

Microcontrollers from the TRAVEO™ T2G family are well-suited for these applications, offering scalable memory and CPU performance, graphics acceleration, and robust peripheral integration. Paired with HyperRAM™ or serial NOR flash, these MCUs enable crisp, responsive displays without adding complexity to the design.

Component Selection Considerations

The design of LEV electronics is about trade-offs. Engineers need to consider voltage ranges, thermal performance, board space, and cost—all while delivering a safe and enjoyable ride. Below are some selection tips for three critical component types:

Microcontrollers

• MCU families like TRAVEO™ T2G or AURIX™ offer scalable performance and safety features tailored to LEVs.

• Look for MCUs with CAN FD support, PWM timers, ADCs, and integrated safety diagnostics.

• Consider future-proofing with secure boot and OTA update capability.

MOSFETs

• Choose MOSFETs optimized for low conduction and switching losses. Infineon’s OptiMOS™ 5 or 6 series are excellent candidates for LEV power stages.

• Surface mount packages like TSDSON or TOLL help reduce footprint while managing thermal loads.

• Prioritize low gate charge and rugged avalanche capability for extended motor drive life.

Memory

• Use fast, reliable external memory for graphics and data logging—HyperRAM™ is a solid choice for display-intensive LEVs.

• Embedded flash should support temperature extremes and high endurance cycles, especially for mission-critical systems like BMS.

Choosing a Cohesive Component Ecosystem

While it’s possible to source individual components from multiple suppliers, engineers often benefit from selecting components that are designed to work seamlessly together. A unified component ecosystem can reduce integration effort, improve system-level compatibility, and streamline development.

When selecting parts for LEVs, it helps to prioritize platforms that offer:

• Scalable microcontroller families with built-in motor control and safety features

• Low- and mid-voltage MOSFETs optimized for switching efficiency and thermal performance

• Gate driver ICs with integrated protection and diagnostic capabilities

• Environmental and current sensors for improved battery and motor system monitoring

• Memory solutions that support OTA updates, fast boot times, and temperature resilience

Using a consistent component platform across the BMS, inverter, and smart cluster can simplify firmware development, reduce certification overhead, and improve system reliability—especially in safety-critical applications. Many semiconductor vendors now offer reference designs, development kits, and toolchains specifically tailored for LEVs, making it easier to get to market quickly with robust designs.

What’s Next?

Light electric vehicles are reshaping personal mobility, logistics, and even recreational transportation. For engineers, these systems offer a playground of tightly integrated subsystems, constrained designs, and the chance to push efficiency and usability into new territory.

As regulations push for reduced emissions and cities look to reduce congestion, the LEV category will only continue to grow. Designing for this future means adopting power components, controllers, and sensors that offer more than raw performance—they must also offer scalability, integration, and long-term support.

With companies like Infineon offering well-aligned platforms for BMS, inverter, and smart cluster development, the road ahead is clear: more connected, efficient, and intelligent LEVs—built by engineers who understand the full stack, from the battery pack to the handlebars.