An axle assembly comprising: an electric motor having a rotor that is rotatable about an axis; a drive pinion that extends through the rotor and is rotatable about the axis; a gear reduction unit (30, 30') that includes: a first countershaft gear set (202, 202') that includes first, second, and third countershaft gears (240, 242, 244) that are fixedly mounted to a first countershaft such that the first, second, and third countershaft gears (240, 242, 244) are rotatable about a first countershaft axis with the first countershaft; a second countershaft gear set (204, 204') that includes first, second, and third countershaft gears (240', 242', 244') that are fixedly mounted to a second countershaft such that the first, second, and third countershaft gears (240', 242', 244') of the second countershaft gear set (204, 204') are rotatable about a second countershaft axis with the second countershaft; and a set of drive pinion gears (200, 200') that include first, second, and third gears (210, 212, 214) that are rotatable about the axis and that mesh with the first, second, and third countershaft gears (240, 242, 244) of the first countershaft gear set (202, 202'), respectively, and that mesh with first, second, and third countershaft gears (240', 242', 244') of the second countershaft gear set (204, 204'), respectively, wherein the first gear is continuously connected to the rotor and continuously decoupled from and rotatable with respect to the drive pinion, and the second and third gears (212, 214) are operatively connectable to the drive pinion; a first clutch that selectively connects the second gear and the drive pinion; and a second clutch that selectively connects the third gear and the drive pinion. an electric motor having a rotor that is rotatable about an axis; a drive pinion that extends through the rotor and is rotatable about the axis; a gear reduction unit (30, 30') that includes: a first countershaft gear set (202, 202') that includes first, second, and third countershaft gears (240, 242, 244) that are fixedly mounted to a first countershaft such that the first, second, and third countershaft gears (240, 242, 244) are rotatable about a first countershaft axis with the first countershaft; a second countershaft gear set (204, 204') that includes first, second, and third countershaft gears (240', 242', 244') that are fixedly mounted to a second countershaft such that the first, second, and third countershaft gears (240', 242', 244') of the second countershaft gear set (204, 204') are rotatable about a second countershaft axis with the second countershaft; and a set of drive pinion gears (200, 200') that include first, second, and third gears (210, 212, 214) that are rotatable about the axis and that mesh with the first, second, and third countershaft gears (240, 242, 244) of the first countershaft gear set (202, 202'), respectively, and that mesh with first, second, and third countershaft gears (240', 242', 244') of the second countershaft gear set (204, 204'), respectively, wherein the first gear is continuously connected to the rotor and continuously decoupled from and rotatable with respect to the drive pinion, and the second and third gears (212, 214) are operatively connectable to the drive pinion; a first countershaft gear set (202, 202') that includes first, second, and third countershaft gears (240, 242, 244) that are fixedly mounted to a first countershaft such that the first, second, and third countershaft gears (240, 242, 244) are rotatable about a first countershaft axis with the first countershaft; a second countershaft gear set (204, 204') that includes first, second, and third countershaft gears (240', 242', 244') that are fixedly mounted to a second countershaft such that the first, second, and third countershaft gears (240', 242', 244') of the second countershaft gear set (204, 204') are rotatable about a second countershaft axis with the second countershaft; and a set of drive pinion gears (200, 200') that include first, second, and third gears (210, 212, 214) that are rotatable about the axis and that mesh with the first, second, and third countershaft gears (240, 242, 244) of the first countershaft gear set (202, 202'), respectively, and that mesh with first, second, and third countershaft gears (240', 242', 244') of the second countershaft gear set (204, 204'), respectively, wherein the first gear is continuously connected to the rotor and continuously decoupled from and rotatable with respect to the drive pinion, and the second and third gears (212, 214) are operatively connectable to the drive pinion; a first clutch that selectively connects the second gear and the drive pinion; and a second clutch that selectively connects the third gear and the drive pinion.