We are observing an unprecedented expansion of Nidec in the EV segment. The Japanese electric motor specialist is already supplying drive units for multiple electric car models and now enters the two-wheel segment.
The company announced that its first in-wheel motor has been adopted by China’s largest electric two-wheel vehicle manufacturer - Yadea Group Holdings.
Yadea, founded in 2001, already sold more than 50 million two-wheel vehicles, including 10 million in 2020. We assume that if the company is the largest player in China, it's obviously also the largest player globally.
According to the press release, the Nidec in-wheel motor (2.8 kW, 48 V) is used in the brand new 換電獣01 (Huan Dian Shou 01) model, introduced by Yadea in October 2021.
"Nidec’s in-wheel motor for electric motorcycles (maximum output: 48V/2.8kW) adopted for換電獣01(Huan Dian Shou 01) is the first product that the Company developed for electric motorcycles, and installed inside換電獣01(Huan Dian Shou 01)’s rear wheel."
Nidec says that its first in-wheel motor, developed by the Small Precision Motor & Solutions Business Unit, which makes hard disk drive (HDD) spindle motors, has better torque characteristics than competitors (by 18% at low-speed and by 5% at high-speed).
"The in-wheel motor boasts the world’s top-level torque characteristics, with the low-speed torque 18%, and the high-speed torque 5%, better than other companies’ motors of the same category.
Developed by the Company’s Small Precision Motor & Solutions Business Unit, which makes hard disk drive (HDD) spindle motors (the product of which Nidec has the largest global market share), the motor utilizes the Company’s single-micron-scale magnetic circuit design technology cultivated in making compact and fast-rotating HDDs."
We are very curious about the further progress of Nidec as it's a heavyweight player, which treats EVs of all types seriously and tries to make this segment its main growth area.