Electric Motor Manufacturing
YASA industrialises axial flux motor production under Mercedes-Benz
Five years after its acquisition by Mercedes-Benz, YASA has industrialised axial flux motor production at Berlin-Marienfelde and expanded UK manufacturing capacity, underpinning the powertrain of the Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe.
Five years ago this month, YASA became a wholly owned subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz. What began as an Oxford University spin out with a radically different idea about how to build an electric motor has, in that time, moved from proving a concept to industrialising it at scale. The company's axial flux technology now sits at the heart of the next generation of Mercedes-AMG electric performance, and the anniversary offers a useful vantage point from which to assess what German ownership has actually delivered.
The transformation is easiest to see in Berlin. Production of YASA's axial flux motors is now under way at Mercedes-Benz's Marienfelde plant, a site with more than 120 years of manufacturing history and, since 2022, home to the group's Digital Factory Campus. Across roughly 30,000 square metres, three halls and seven production lines, the plant combines highly automated processes with laser technology, intelligent control systems and AI based quality control.
The last five years have been transformational for YASA. As part of Mercedes-Benz, we have been able to accelerate our technology roadmap, invest in our UK facilities and bring our axial flux motors closer to the next generation of high-performance electric vehicles
The manufacturing process itself runs to around 98 individual steps, of which 65 are new to Mercedes-Benz and 35 are described as world firsts, generating more than 30 patent applications along the way.
That is not the language of incremental supplier integration. It is the language of a group treating axial flux as a core technology worth building fresh capability around.
A concept turned into a production reality
The clearest expression of that shift arrived earlier this year with the unveiling of the Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe, the first series production AMG model to use YASA's axial flux motors. Built around the Mercedes-AMG High Performance Electric Architecture, the car uses three compact YASA units, one at the front axle and two at the rear, a configuration chosen to maximise power output while giving engineers greater flexibility over how the drivetrain is packaged.
The production car follows the CONCEPT AMG GT XX, which previewed axial flux technology's performance potential and, in doing so, its durability under sustained load. That case was made most vividly at Nardò in Italy, where the concept completed the equivalent of a lap of the world in under eight days and broke 25 long distance records. Endurance of that kind matters more to engineers than a single headline power figure, since it speaks to how the motor behaves once the novelty of a launch has worn off.
Joerg Miska, CEO of YASA, frames the period in similar terms. "The last five years have been transformational for YASA. As part of Mercedes-Benz, we have been able to accelerate our technology roadmap, invest in our UK facilities and bring our axial flux motors closer to the next generation of high-performance electric vehicles.
"We have retained the spirit, agility and engineering curiosity that have always defined YASA, while gaining the scale, support and long-term industrial strength of Mercedes-Benz. That combination is incredibly powerful."
We are no longer only proving what axial flux technology can do, we are helping to industrialise it for some of the most demanding electric performance applications in the world
Building the capacity to match the ambition
Industrialisation of this kind requires capacity, and YASA has spent heavily to secure it. In May 2025 the company opened a fully upgraded manufacturing facility in Yarnton, near Oxford, backed by an investment of £12 million ($16.1 million). The 60,000 sq ft site brings every stage of production under one roof, from coil and bar manufacturing cells and CNC coil winding through to laser stripping and brazing, stator laser welding and full stator quality control. The facility was designed specifically to lift precision and repeatability, and it has taken YASA's annual capacity beyond 25,000 units.
A second, larger commitment is close to completion at Bicester Motion, where YASA is building a bespoke 90,000 sq ft headquarters intended to house its innovation, engineering, prototyping, development, operations and business support teams under one permanent Oxfordshire roof. Taken together with Yarnton, the investment signals a deliberate choice to keep YASA's engineering core in the UK even as production scales up within the wider Mercedes-Benz network in Germany.
Power density, tested and then exceeded
Alongside the industrial build out, YASA's Oxford Innovation Centre has continued to push the underlying technology. In 2025 the company reached 550 kW from a 13.1 kg axial flux prototype motor, a power density of 42 kW/kg. It then went further with a lighter 12.7 kg version producing a short term peak output of 750 kW, an unofficial benchmark of 59 kW/kg.
Figures of that kind are as much a statement of manufacturing precision as of raw engineering ambition, since every gram removed from a motor of this size has to be recovered from tighter tolerances rather than simpler design.
Dr Tim Woolmer, YASA's founder and chief technology officer, sees the last five years as a change in the nature of the company's work rather than simply its scale. "YASA was founded on a simple but ambitious idea, that there was a better way to build an electric motor.
"Five years into Mercedes-Benz ownership, that idea has moved into a completely new phase. We are no longer only proving what axial flux technology can do, we are helping to industrialise it for some of the most demanding electric performance applications in the world. That is a major milestone for the whole YASA team."
What the next five years might hold
YASA's ambitions are not confined to Mercedes-Benz. The company says it intends to keep growing its business with other premium automotive OEMs, expanding its market presence through new products, higher volumes and additional customer programmes. From its UK sites it will continue to design, develop and manufacture axial flux motors and power electronics for both hybrid and battery electric applications, while also looking at adjacent markets such as power generation.
That external ambition is worth watching closely. A supplier fully owned by one of the world's largest premium carmakers has an obvious incentive, and a ready made customer, in its parent.
