CREDIT: YASA
YASA has officially opened its fully upgraded manufacturing facility in Yarnton, near Oxford, UK. The UK’s first axial-flux electric motor super factory allows YASA to continue advancing axial flux motor design, development, and production for electric and hybrid vehicles that deliver up to 4x greater performance than other electric motors on the road today.
The £12m investment boosts YASA’s manufacturing capacity, setting new benchmarks in e-motor technology and quality, and enabling production to scale beyond 25,000 units per year.
“With a multi-million-pound investment into our Yarnton facility, we have transformed our manufacturing capability and significantly accelerated our production capacity,” says Tim Woolmer, YASA CTO and founder. “This latest initiative will enable us to apply our technology with even greater accuracy, pace and scale. Combined with YASA’s position as part of the Mercedes-Benz Group, the factory transformation consolidates YASA’s role as a global leader in developing high-performance, high-efficiency axial-flux e-motors.
“As a company, we have come a long way since our humble origin as an Oxford University start-up. However, we are still driven by the same passion, spirit, and determination to create the world’s most advanced electric mobility technology solutions.”
The high-tech 60,000ft² YASA facility incorporates cutting-edge manufacturing technologies designed specifically to meet YASA’s requirements. These include the addition of four new, uniquely constructed coil and bar manufacturing cells with state-of-the-art CNC coil winding, assembly, and impregnation processes. New laser stripping and brazing, increased rotor balancing accuracy, new high-capacity ovens, stator laser welding, and complete stator quality control cover dimensional, electrical, and leak testing.
The design of the new facility now brings all production processes under one roof. It also creates a seamless manufacturing ecosystem, with significantly enhanced automation and highly efficient production lines that adhere to intricate, ultra-quality-focused processes.
These advances will enhance YASA’s capability to create complete motor sets while improving repeatability and reliability and introducing even greater flexibility levels by overcoming bottlenecks in the component supply chain.
“We have transformed the manufacturing processes to enable an enhanced operating philosophy,” says Richard Firmstone, operations director. “Manufacturing in motor sets to optimize flow, improving safety, quality, and efficiency. Enabling full process and material traceability, creating full flexibility to mitigate risk and deal with fluctuations in customer demand effectively.”
“Each of the numerous technical manufacturing advances we have implemented during the factory transformation consolidates YASA’s ability to outpace and outperform all existing radial flux technology by delivering more compact, lightweight electric propulsion systems,” adds Andy North, YASA commercial director. “YASA is now better placed to meet the needs of our OEM customers, such as Ferrari and Lamborghini, and new customers on a global scale than ever before.”
YASA’s longstanding relationship with the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) helped enable the original development of its Yarnton facility. While this latest high-tech expansion has been privately funded, YASA continues to work closely with the APC on future generations of axial flux technology, ensuring that cutting-edge electric motor innovation remains rooted in the UK for years to come.
“This vastly improved facility is another important step in YASA’s ongoing strategy to further expand its product and customer portfolio,” says Joerg Miska, CEO. “The new super factory delivers increased flexibility, efficiency, and quality, positioning the company for diverse business opportunities. Thanks to their ultra-compact design and exceptional torque and power, YASA motors are perfectly suited for high-performance hybrid vehicles and other fully electric applications across complementary sectors.”