Volvo wants to develop their own electric motors – in-house

The company announces that it has opened a brand new electric motor lab in Shanghai, China, the latest addition to its global network of facilities for the development and testing of electric car components. The lab comes in addition to ongoing e-motor development in Gothenburg, Sweden and battery labs in China and Sweden. By bringing the development of electric motors in-house, the company's engineers can further optimise the electric motors and the entire electric driveline for the new cars. This approach will, according to the company, allow engineers to make further gains in terms of energy efficiency and overall performance. “Through in-house design and development, we can fine-tune our e-motors to ever better levels,” says Henrik Green, chief technology officer at Volvo Cars, in a press release. “By constantly improving their overall performance levels in terms of energy efficiency and comfort, we create an electric driving experience that is unique to Volvo.” The newly opened electric motor lab in Shanghai became operational last month. It will mainly focus on electric motor development for use in fully electric and hybrid cars based on Volvo Cars’ forthcoming SPA 2 modular vehicle architecture. The investments in e-motor design and development is yet another step towards Volvo Cars’ climate ambitions and electrification strategy where the company aims for 50% of its sales to be fully electric vehicles by 2025, with the rest hybrids.