A drive switching mechanism of a utility vehicle includes: a two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive switching device that switches between two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive of the utility vehicle; and a control unit that controls the drive switching mechanism. The two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive switching device switches between two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive by using a first clutch. The control unit permits the two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive switching device to switch from two-wheel drive to four-wheel drive when a rotation difference of the first clutch becomes equal to or smaller than a predetermined value.

A vehicle includes a differential gear that transmits rotation of a propeller shaft to an axle. A differential lock switches the differential gear between a locked state and an unlocked state. A clutch is provided in a power transmission path between a prime mover and wheels of the vehicle. A controller controls an engaging force of the clutch during a moving start of the vehicle in accordance with which of the locked state and the unlocked state is selected by the differential gear.

A disconnect assembly, including: a selector; a first clutch including a first sleeve; and a second clutch including a second sleeve. In a drive mode, the first sleeve non-rotatably connects a first drive gear and a first axle of a first drive train, and the second sleeve is non-rotatably connects a second drive gear to a second axle of a second drive train. In a disconnect mode, relative rotation between the first drive gear and the first axle is enabled and relative rotation between the second drive gear and the second axle is enabled. To transition from the drive mode to the disconnect mode, the selector is displaced by an actuator, the selector is arranged to disconnect the first annular sleeve from the first drive gear or the first axle, and the selector is arranged to disconnect the second annular sleeve from the second drive gear or the second axle.

A limited slip differential (LSD) is mounted on a driven axle of a vehicle to drive left and right wheels. To control the LSD, a current input torque applied to the LSD is determined and a predicted engine torque is determined based on an accelerator control position. A current average speed of the left and right wheels is also determined. A preload is applied to the LSD. The preload is determined based on the predicted engine torque and to the current average speed of the left and right wheels.

A locking differential assembly includes a differential case defining an axis of rotation. A first side gear is at a first end of the differential case. A second side gear is at a second end of the differential case. A stator is disposed at the first end. A solenoid is fixedly attached to the stator. The stator is selectably magnetically actuatable to translate an axial translation distance by the solenoid. A lock ring is selectably engagable with the first side gear to prevent the first side gear from rotating relative to the differential case. At least two relay pins are connected to the lock ring and in contact with the stator to space the lock ring at least a predetermined distance from the stator.

A limited slip differential (LSD) is mounted on a driven axle of a vehicle to drive left and right wheels. To control the LSD, a current input torque applied to the LSD is determined and a predicted engine torque is determined based on an accelerator control position. A current average speed of the left and right wheels is also determined. A preload is applied to the LSD. The preload is determined based on the predicted engine torque and to the current average speed of the left and right wheels.

A limited slip differential (LSD) transfers a torque from an engine to left and right wheels of a vehicle. A current angle of a steering device is determined. Rotational speeds of 5 the left and right driven wheels are also determined. A current wheel slip of is calculated as a difference between the rotational speeds of the left and right wheels. Maximum and minimum allowed wheel slips are calculated as a function of the current steering angle. The LSD is controlled so that the current wheel slip stays in a range between the maximum and minimum allowed wheel slips. To this end, the LSD is loaded if the wheel slip falls outside of the range 0 between the maximum and minimum allowed wheel slips.

An axle assembly that may include a housing assembly, a case, an interaxle differential unit, drive pinion, and an output shaft. The axle assembly may further include a clutch collar that is moveable between a first position and a second position to engage and disengage a rotatably drivable member and the drive pinion.

An electrical axle drive device includes at least one first electrical machine, which has a stator and a rotor rotatable around a machine axis of rotation relative to the stator. A gear unit is drivable by the first electrical machine having at least one first planetary gear stage drivable by the first electrical machine and at least one first spur gear stage drivable by the first electrical machine. The device also includes at least one drive wheel of the motor vehicle being able to be rotated around a wheel axis of rotation running parallel to the machine axis of rotation and being drivable by the first electrical machine via the gear unit. The first electrical machine is arranged at least partially on a first side of the longitudinal central plane with respect to a longitudinal central plane of the vehicle that is spanned by the vehicle vertical direction and the vehicle longitudinal direction and the first spur gear stage is arranged on a second side of the longitudinal central plane opposite the first side in the vehicle transverse direction.

A drive switching mechanism of a utility vehicle includes: a two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive switching device that switches between two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive of the utility vehicle; and a control unit that controls the drive switching mechanism. The two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive switching device switches between two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive by using a first clutch. The control unit permits the two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive switching device to switch from two- wheel drive to four-wheel drive when a rotation difference of the first clutch becomes equal to or smaller than a predetermined value.