New advances in electric motors

New advances in electric motor development could lead to more efficient electric vehicles being developed. Japan’s Tohoku University has been working on switched reluctance motors that feature an axial gap design and do not require permanent magnets. These can deliver the same torque as motors featuring permanent magnets however, a key point as the cost of the rare earths needed in permanent magnets has increased. Meanwhile Nissan said that sales of its Leaf model are now growing, with 46,000 having been bo
December 17, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
New advances in electric motor development could lead to more efficient electric vehicles being developed. Japan’s Tohoku University has been working on switched reluctance motors that feature an axial gap design and do not require permanent magnets. These can deliver the same torque as motors featuring permanent magnets however, a key point as the cost of the rare earths needed in permanent magnets has increased. Meanwhile 2454 Nissan said that sales of its Leaf model are now growing, with 46,000 having been bought. Of these, 25,000 have been sold in Japan, 18,000 in the USA and 7,000 in Europe. Nissan and its partner 2453 Renault plan to sell 1.5 million electric vehicles by 2016 and have established a facility in the US able to produce 350,000 lithium-ion battery packs/year.

In addition, 3055 Mitsubishi is working on plans to increase the number of electric charging points in Japan. Some 400 new 200V charging points will be added, in addition to the 3,192 standard charging stations and 1,380 fast-charging points in the country.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Market for PHEV and PEV vehicles to 2017 assessed
    April 25, 2012
    According to a report from Pike Research, hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) combined will represent 3.1 per cent of worldwide auto sales by 2017. Thanks to predicted higher penetration rates in the United States, Pike believes HEVs and PEVs will account for 5.1 per cent of total US vehicle sales in 2017.
    Read More
  • Lithium ion battery prices will fall by over one third by 2017, helping drive EV adoption
    March 19, 2012
    According to a recent report from Pike Research, as manufacturing efficiencies improve and access to lithium expands, the installed cost of Li-ion batteries will fall by more than one-third by the end of 2017.
    Read More
  • Future driveline trends for vehicles
    July 2, 2015
    Future vehicles will no longer rely on power from internal combustion engines as the supply of oil dwindles and as climate change issues force a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. According to a report from IDTechEx, there are three major technological trends for vehicles that are becoming increasingly important. These trends are shaping the development of new vehicles, targeting them at specific customer types and also the applications for these vehicles.
    Read More
  • Nissan says Mexico is enormous potential market for electric vehicles
    March 19, 2013
    Nissan says it sees enormous potential for electric vehicles in Mexico, with its Leaf electric car to be launched commercially during the third quarter of 2013. However, many experts reportedly doubt that it will sell 1,000 units in the country by 2018. The high price of electric vehicles is seen as a potential barrier to their growth in this market. The domestic market for vehicles in Mexico is expected to grow by between 5% and 6% in the next few years, or by about 60,000.
    Read More

Highlighted Content