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Stellantis Patents New Electric Trailer That Uses AI to Let Ordinary Small Cars Tow Campers

Source: IT之家 Published: AI 中文 AI
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According to Electrek, Stellantis has been granted a patent for an electric trailer chassis equipped with its own motor, battery and AI-assisted control system, which could give almost any vehicle towing capability. The patent, filed in 2023 and granted as US Patent No. 12779916 on November 3, 2026, describes a trailer that handles the hitch connection and part of the vertical load through its own ball hitch or fifth-wheel coupling, uses its built-in motor and battery to provide drive force, and adds a regenerative braking system plus AI-assisted steering and traction control to keep the trailer stable while moving. Because the trailer can accelerate, brake and steer independently, even a small EV like the Fiat 500e might be able to pull a camper body, a task traditionally requiring a high-horsepower pickup, though questions remain about the electric trailer's battery capacity, actual payload limits and whether it can stay stable on long downhills and in emergency braking, and it is not yet known whether Stellantis will put it into mass production.

Translation(model translation, not the source's own text)

Stellantis Obtains Patent for Novel Electric Trailer, Using AI to Help Ordinary Small Cars Tow RVs

IT Home, November 15 news: According to foreign media outlet electrek, Stellantis has recently obtained a rather creative patent for an electric trailer device, planning to use an electric trailer chassis equipped with motors, batteries, and an AI-assisted control system to give almost any vehicle towing capability.

According to reports, this patent was originally filed in 2023, and Stellantis was officially granted US Patent No. US 12779916 on November 3, 2026. The patent mainly describes an electric trailer device that can bear the towing connection and part of the vertical load through its own ball hitch or fifth-wheel coupling, while using built-in motors and batteries to provide driving force for the trailer. In addition, the corresponding device is also equipped with a regenerative braking system, as well as AI-assisted steering and traction control systems, to ensure the trailer remains stable while driving.

Stellantis also explicitly describes the automatic control system of this trailer device in the patent document, including cameras, sensors, controllers, and a four-wheel steer-by-wire system. Because the trailer itself has independent acceleration, braking, and steering capabilities, this means that even small electric vehicles like the Fiat 500e may be able to pull an RV shell, completing towing tasks that traditionally required a high-horsepower pickup truck.

Of course, this design still has many practical issues that need to be resolved, such as the battery capacity of the electric trailer, the specific load weight situation, and whether it can maintain stability during long-distance downhill driving and emergency braking. Therefore, it is currently unknown whether Stellantis will put it into mass production and officially bring it to market.

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The translation is machine-generated and individual terms may be off. Nothing is rewritten or cut; the original is authoritative.

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