The Yasa company, recently acquired by Mercedes, is developing axial flow electric motors which will be used in sports models from AMG. High efficiency and small footprint characterize these electric motors, which could make their debut on muscular compacts.
Mercedes intends to become a 100% electric brand in 2030 ” in markets where conditions allow », And offer a battery-powered model in each segment of its range from 2025. To achieve this, the German manufacturer acquired, last July, the British company Yasa specializing in the design and manufacture of electric motors. Mercedes announces that Yasa engines to ” ultra-high performance Will be produced at its Berlin plant.
Axial flow, the next step in automotive electrification?
The future electromotors in question will be axial flow, a technology whose principles date back to the 19th century and whose application in the automobile is currently being studied by a few leading companies. In this configuration, the stator (fixed part) is placed between two rotors and the magnetic flux moves on an axis parallel to that of rotation of the motor, while in a conventional radial motor with a single rotor the flux is directed towards the outside perpendicular to this axis. Concretely, this allows an axial motor to be more compact, to display better efficiency and to offer greater energy density. On the other hand, this compactness and the larger diameter of the discs induce new difficulties concerning the stability and the cooling of the assembly. Yasa is working on an oil cooling. It is in particular research relating to the materials to be used which currently requires time and resources, as often reserving the first concrete applications to high-end products. At Mercedes, it will be electric sports cars signed AMG.
TO READ. Mercedes-AMG. Everything about future hybrid and electric sports cars
Axial motor for electric AMG 45s?
The first Mercedes-AMGs to feature an axial-flow electric motor could be the beefy variants of the automaker’s next-generation “zero-emission” compacts. This will be based on an unprecedented modular architecture, designed exclusively for electric cars and called MMA. Its introduction is announced for 2025. The performance of the axial-flow engine will have to live up to Yasa’s promises to make people forget the M139 block of the current Mercedes-AMG 45 models, the world’s most powerful standard four-cylinder series with its 421 hp.
Sources : Daimler, JESMB
