An Oxfordshire maker of lightweight axial-flux electric motors for high-performance cars, now owned by Mercedes-Benz.
YASA designs and makes electric motors and motor controllers for cars. Its motors use an axial-flux design, which is flatter and lighter than the traditional layout, and the company says this gives better efficiency and power for a smaller size. Standard motors include the P400R and 750R, and it also builds custom motors for car makers. Customers have included Ferrari, for the SF90 Stradale, and Koenigsegg, for the Regera.
YASA does not publish a long mission statement that we could find. Its pitch is that axial-flux technology can make electric vehicles lighter and more efficient. When it was bought, chief executive Chris Harris said the deal gave YASA technology "the global scale and reach of Mercedes-Benz".
YASA was founded in September 2009 in Oxford, England, to turn an axial-flux motor developed at the University of Oxford into a product. It was developed by Dr Malcolm McCulloch and then PhD student Dr Tim Woolmer, who is the company's CTO and founder, and was first used in the Morgan LIFEcar. A series production facility opened in January 2018, and in May 2024 YASA received approval for a new headquarters at a former RAF base in Bicester, Oxfordshire. ACQUIRED: by Mercedes-Benz (2021). It keeps its own brand, team and facilities, and Mercedes-Benz keeps an electric motor research hub in Yarnton, near Oxford.
At the time of the 2021 acquisition, a report said YASA employed about 250 people at its Oxfordshire site, so the number today is probably higher. It also spun out a sister company, Evolito, to develop its technology for aircraft. Its motors were first used in the Morgan LIFEcar, and it has also supplied the Jaguar C-X75 concept and racing projects. After the deal, YASA said it would keep supplying its existing supercar customers and provide motors for the Mercedes-AMG AMG.EA electric platform, and it had already worked with Mercedes-Benz since 2019. Its custom motors are built into car maker and supplier drivetrains. People at a motor company include electrical and mechanical engineers, power electronics and software designers, test engineers, production and quality teams and supply chain staff.
YASA is a very good example of a university idea turning into a factory in the UK, and it sits at the centre of the move from petrol engines to electric motors.
Website: www.yasamotors.com
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