British e-motor specialist Yasa has opened a new £12 million facility in Oxfordshire to boost production of its high-performance motors for luxury electric and hybrid vehicles.
The company, which supplies Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren with motors for their hybrid supercars, has upgraded its production centre in Yarnton with plans to nearly double output.
The expanded 60,000 square foot facility will produce up to 25,000 of Yasa’s axial flux motors annually, consolidating all production elements under one roof for the first time.
Yasa’s motors currently power the Ferrari SF90, Lamborghini Revuelto and McLaren Artura. They will also feature in the upcoming all-electric Mercedes-AMG super saloon, expected to deliver 1,000bhp.
What makes these motors special is their design. Unlike traditional radial flux motors common in most EVs, Yasa’s axial flux technology uses a different stator construction that creates motors just one-third the thickness of conventional units while delivering four times the energy density. This allows for massive power in a compact package.
The motors destined for the Mercedes-AMG can generate up to 480bhp each.
Yasa began as an Oxford University start-up based on co-founder Tim Woolmer’s PhD project before being acquired by Mercedes-Benz Group in 2021.
“With a multi-million-pound investment into our Yarnton facility, we have transformed our manufacturing capability and significantly accelerated our production capacity,” said Woolmer.
“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.”
Woolmer added that while the company has evolved substantially since its university origins, it remains “driven by the same passion, spirit and determination to create the world’s most advanced electric mobility technology solutions.”
