Oxford-based company opens new EV motor facility

January 31, 2018

Next-gen motors for EVs and hybrids will be built, with maximum capacity of 100,000 per year

Oxford-based electric motor manufacturer Yasa has opened a new factory capable of producing 100,000 electric motors per year.

The factory creates 150 jobs, and has benefitted from Government’s Advanced Propulsion Centre initiative, which aims to turn the UK into a hub for the development of EV technology, as well as autonomous driving. Yasa has in the past built engines for Jaguar, used in the CX-75 concept.

80% of the factory’s output will be destined for export. Yasa was originally a spin-out company from Oxford University, founded in 2009. The development flies in the face of more pessimistic British manufacturing reports, which pin the downturn to Brexit.

Yesterday, it was announced that UK car manufacturing had dropped by 3%, as fears of Brexit’s effect on the renewed UK car industry increase in volume. UK car sales also fell by by 5.7% last year, with Brexit blamed for the fall.

Yasa CEO Chris Harris said: “YASA is a great example of what the UK can and should expect to achieve if we invest in the innovative and creative ideas emerging from our best universities, and have the determination and patience to turn those great ideas into world-beating companies.”

Opening the facility, business and energy secretary Greg Clark said: “Innovation is the lifeblood of our Industrial Strategy and our economy. This spirit is embodied by YASA, a thriving business that has emerged from one of our finest academic institutions and is now helping to deliver the UK’s ambition to lead the world in meeting the Grand Challenges presented by Clean Growth and Future of Mobility.”

“Government investment in programmes that have supported YASA have helped propel this company forward. The factory I will be opening today is testimony to what can be achieved through our industrial approach, when academia, government and industry come together.”