Winches are a vital off-road accessory. And while they’re typically powered by a vehicle’s 12-volt electrical system, Stellantis is looking at an alternative power source for them in hybrids and electric vehicles.
In a patent filing published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Jan. 21, 2025, and submitted by the automaker about a year prior, Stellantis discusses running a winch not off a battery pack but with a gearbox connected to one of the vehicle’s electric drive motors.
Stellantis patent image of a winch geared to an electric motor
As described in the document, the winch would be mounted on a vehicle’s front bumper in the conventional fashion. But instead of having its own built-in electric motor to spool and unspool a cable (which is then connected to an anchor point to pull the vehicle out of trouble spots), the winch would be connected to a planetary gearbox and then to drive modules like the ones Stellantis plans to manufacture in Indiana.
The gearbox would in turn be connected to the differential on the front axle, allowing an electric motor normally used to propel the vehicle to turn the winch’s spool instead of the wheels. A winch mode would disconnect the front wheels, as well as activate the parking brake to lock the rear wheels for maximum stability, according to the filing.
Stellantis patent image of a winch geared to an electric motor
The main benefit of such an arrangement would likely be the ease of integrating winches into vehicles from the factory. Eliminating the dedicated motor for winches would make them more compact, and potentially easier to place behind a bumper where they wouldn’t be a source of aerodynamic drag. Not that current buyers of off-road vehicles have any problem fitting aftermarket winches, though.
Integrated winches could be used on future Stellantis electric off-roaders like the Jeep Recon, a Wrangler-like SUV announced in 2022, and recently teased again in a Super Bowl ad, or perhaps a more off-road-focused version of the Ram 1500 Ramcharger plug-in hybrid or Ram 1500 REV EV. The latter has been pushed back once again, to late 2026, while Ramcharger is due to arrive later this year.