Market and Technology Trends

Motors for automotive 2022 – Focus on full Electric Vehicles

By Yole Intelligence — Apr 2022

The electric motor market will exceed $13B by 2027, with major technical changes and supply chain reorganisation ongoing

How can electric traction motor impact power semiconductors used in Electric Vehicles (EVs)?

We expect the traction motor market for full electric light commercial and passenger vehicles to be worth more than $13B by 2027.
As the motor is a key part of the powertrain, any change in the motor will impact the characteristics of the other components of the powertrain such as the battery and inverter. For example, a more powerful motor requires a more powerful inverter and battery. When vehicles have several motors, each motor needs to be powered by its own inverter. The associated battery must be more powerful to operate all the traction motors at the same time.
As shown in this report, the changes in traction motors directly impact the inverter and the battery. They indirectly impact the cost of power semiconductors, passive devices, batteries, and cooling systems.

Will non-Chinese vehicle makers continue to use Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSMs) in coming years?

Today four technologies are mainly used in traction motors in full EVs. They are Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSMs); Permanent Magnet Assisted Synchronous Reluctance Motors (PMaSynRMs), Induction Motors (IMs) and Electrically Excited Synchronous Motors (EESMs). Today, PMSM technology is widespread in the EV industry. We expect it to remain the main technology in coming years thanks to its high-power density and efficiency at normal speeds. Also, China is the biggest EV market, and almost all Chinese vehicle makers use PMSM.
One key point for electric motor manufacturing is that the magnets used in PMSM are made with rare-earth materials, whose refineries are mainly in China. The magnets can account for up to 40% of the total PMSM cost. Non-Chinese vehicle makers that use PMSMs may suffer terribly from magnet shortages or cost fluctuations if one of the following scenarios happens:
– The Chinese government imposes restrictions on rare-earth materials exports to satisfy local demand.
– China enters a conflict with Taiwan and US and EU governments impose commercial sanctions on the Chinese government.
Considering these two scenarios, Yole expects that non-Chinese vehicle makers will reduce their dependency by developing new technologies or improving the existing magnet-free technologies.

Vehicle makers’ new approach regarding the EV powertrain will completely reshape the motor supply chain.

Vehicle makers are mainly using three business models regarding traction motors: in-house manufacturing; outsourcing; and a hybrid business model that combines in-house manufacturing and outsourcing.
The traction motor is part of the powertrain. There is also a solid trend toward integrating all the powertrain elements together, with vehicle makers adopting a holistic approach that consists of considering the powertrain as a single piece.
This holistic approach completely reshapes the motor supply chain:
– Vehicle makers belong to a single supplier regarding the powertrain elements or manufacture their powertrain in-house.
– Motor and inverter manufacturers are enlarging their competencies by acquiring other companies or investing to offer complete solutions to their clients.
The traction motor market is led by three vehicle makers: Tesla; BYD and VW. In this report, we review what the main Tier 1 part suppliers are doing, such as Nidec and Vitesco. They are all very aggressive through their investments in motor manufacturing and partnerships with vehicle makers.

Key features

Full electric vehicle motor market forecast by type of electric vehicle (EV) from 2020 to 2027
Full electric vehicle motor market forecast by voltage level from 2020 to 2027
Full electric vehicle motor market forecast by power ranges from 2020 to 2027
Full electric vehicle motor market forecast by motor technology from 2020 to 2027
EV traction motor players’ business models
Vehicle maker strategies regarding traction motors
Traction motors, who supplies whom?
Traction motor players’ market shares
Focus on main mergers, acquisitions, partnerships and investments regarding traction motors
Technology trends in traction motors for full electric vehicles
Rationales behind motor technology trends
Vehicle makers’ main requirements regarding traction motors
Integration trends regarding traction motors
Impact of SiC inverter adoption on traction motors
Motor cooling system approaches
Motor stator winding approaches
Motor cost breakdown
Innovative motors

Product objectives

A detailed view of drivers of the electric traction motor and the associated market trends for electric vehicles
A quantified EV traction motor market opportunity
The 2021-2027 EV traction motor market forecast, split by technology, type of EV, motor power and voltage rating
An analysis of the EV traction motor supply chain
Supply chain movements
A dedicated focus on the Chinese EV traction motor market
The recent mergers, acquisitions, collaborations, and fundraising in the EV traction motor landscape
An overview of the technology trends in EV traction motors:
- Vehicle makers’ traction motor requirements
- Cooling system
- Control strategy
- Vehicle makers’ strategies for traction motors
- Impact of SiC inverter adoption on traction motors
- Innovative motors
- The impact of new technologies and trends related to power electronics in traction motors
An overview of the technology trends in EV traction motors:
- Vehicle makers’ traction motor requirements
- Cooling system
- Control strategy
- Vehicle makers’ strategies for traction motors
- Impact of SiC inverter adoption on traction motors
- Innovative motors
- The impact of new technologies and trends related to power electronics in traction motors

Vehicle makers’ traction motor requirements
Cooling system
Control strategy
Vehicle makers’ strategies for traction motors
Impact of SiC inverter adoption on traction motors
Innovative motors
The impact of new technologies and trends related to power electronics in traction motors

Available on our Yole Group All-Inclusive Automotive Package

Do you have an account?

Search