Germany's Mahle is reported to be one of the world's largest manufacturers of automotive components. But the company also makes ebike motors and has now launched into the eMTB space with a mid-drive claimed to be "one of the most powerful systems on the market."
The M40 launches as the first of a new M series offerings from Mahle SmartBike Systems, which joins the company's lightweight X20, X30 an XS line of hub drives. It's been developed specifically for electric mountain bikes (eMTB) and electric trekkers.
"Thanks to state-of-the-art technologies, precision engineering and intelligent connectivity, the M40 sets new standards in the category of full-power mid-motors," said Jochen Sommer, the brand's Managing Director.
The motor delivers up to 400% pedal-assist. Its lightweight magnesium casing helps toward a scale-tipping 2.5 kg (5.5 lb), while sporting 850 watts of peak power and 105 Nm (77.4 lb.ft) – giving it "one of the best power-to-weight ratios on the market: 340 W/kg."
It also features "the most advanced sensors on the market" – shaping up as a cadence, torque and speed suite – for "smooth, progressive motor response" that dynamically adapts to rider needs. Mahle has cooked in a feature that minimizes the braking effect of the motor as the rider stops pedaling, resulting is a smoother overrun that's said to make tackling obstacles a breeze. And the drive system also comes with an auto hold function to prevent rollback on steep inclines, as well as catering for hill starts.
Mahle has developed new batteries, controller and display to go with the powerful mid-drive, along with a bunch of accessories. The optimized efficiency of the new motor is reported to allow the motor maker to utilize smaller capacity batteries without negatively impacting performance. As such, the system is paired with either a 534-Wh iM5 battery for a combo that comes in at "close to 5 kg," or a long-range iM8 flavor for up to 150 km (93 km) of per-charge range or 2,500 m (8,200 ft) of ascent.
The system can be had with a head unit built around a 1.9-inch color display that shows key information at a glance, as well as a wireless remote with included LED status light. Riders are also able to connect to the platform through a laptop, smartphone or Apple Watch to dive into various features and functions.
The M40 can be installed with any cranksets matching the ETOR spline standard, and being separated from the frame via Mahle's Decoupling Mounting System keeps vibration transmission into the frame low. Not all eMTB will be configured the same though, as makers can tweak the system to suit specific ride characteristics, which are applied at the end of the manufacturing process. We expect to learn more about such partnerships at Eurobike 2025 later this month.
Product page: Mahle M40
