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British electric motor maker Yasa expects it will almost double its annual production volumes by 2026, as several major brands launch new performance cars exploiting its technology.

It said it expects annual production volumes to rise from just under 15,000 currently to around 25,000 in 2026, as its unique motor design underpins an increasing number of new cars from the likes of Lamborghini and Mercedes-AMG.

It employs a proprietary axial flux design, dubbed the Yokeless and Segmented Armature (Yasa), that is claimed to be four times more power-dense than the radial flux motors common in today’s mainstream electric and hybrid cars.

In simple terms, it provides a boost of around 150bhp or more in a package not much larger or heavier than a stack of three or four dinnerplates.

Its motors have already been used in the Ferrars SF90, Ferrari 296 GTB and Lamborghini Revuelto.

However, it is the upcoming Lamborghini Temerario that is expected to comprise the bulk of the brand’s uptick in output, given that it uses three Yasa motors and will be produced in large numbers.

For reference, Lamborghini built more than 20,000 examples of the Temerario’s predecessor, the Hurácan, over its decade-long lifespan.

As previously reported by Autocar, Yasa motors will also feature in the new super-saloon that Mercedes-AMG will unveil next month. It will be the first model based on the performance brand’s AMG.EA electric car platform.

Autocar understands it will employ as many as three motors of a new design, each producing 473bhp in a unit weighing 24kg and occupying just five litres of space – roughly half the size and weight of a Tesla Model 3’s 241bhp radial flux motor.

The same motor will also be deployed in the AMG variant of the new Mercedes-Benz CLA saloon due next year as well as a Porsche Cayenne Electric rival due in 2027.

Senior staff at Yasa remain coy, however, about whether the AMG motors will be assembled solely in Oxfordshire or whether Mercedes will establish its own production line in continental Europe.

Nonetheless, the rise in annual output has required an overhaul of the company’s factory, setting up two production lines dedicated to supplying motors according to the needs of Ferrari and Lamborghini.

Discussing Yasa’s rise from a University of Oxford PhD project to a supplier to some of the world’s most prominent supercar manufacturers, founder and technology chief Tim Woolmer told Autocar: “Ferrari said to us: ‘We cannot find a supplier on the planet that can fit a motor in the space [65mm] we have, because the engine crank is very low’.

“They physically couldn't get the performance they wanted from any other product on the planet. That's a nice piece of business, if you're told that, because it means that you're almost designed into their vehicle for life.”

Commercial director Andy North added: “Last year, something like 75% of Ferraris that came out of Maranello had a Yasa motor."

Yasa executives suggested that the company has a similar arrangement with Lamborghini, with its motors being integral to the design of the Revuelto and Temerario. 

Woolmer suggested that Yasa’s ultimate ambition is to become a byword for performance in the same vein as firms such as Brembo. He said: “They are the go-to people for high-performance brakes. There are a few brands like that in automotive, and we want Yasa’s brand to be synonymous with that, but equally with having the volume in the manufacturing to back it up.”

Yasa developing radical new in-wheel motor

In-wheel motors have become a focal point of EV development over the past two years, as new materials, designs and production techniques have mitigated concerns around the effects of adding unsprung weight.

Among the most prominent manufacturers of in-wheel motors is Surrey-based Protean.

But Woolmer revealed to Autocar that Yasa is also angling for a slice of the market, saying: “Probably in 12 to 14 months, we will be showing off our technology for the first time, and it will blow your socks off."

He added that EVs are currently “in the 1930s”, comparing the benefits brought by in-wheel motors to the development of disc brakes by Dunlop and Jaguar in the early 1950s.

“I would guess in a significant period of time from now – 20, 30 or 40 years – that every electric car will have in-wheel motors. That would be my guess. But it will be a fairly bumpy road and very challenging to get there.”

Fiat has released the first images of the new 500 Hybrid, revealing it will get an overhauled interior and a six-speed manual gearbox.

Photographs of a group of pre-release prototypes show that it will look identical to the electric 500e except for a reworked front grille to feed more air to a petrol engine.

Inside, the dashboard features a larger and squarer new storage cubby and the gearlever is elevated alongside the steering wheel – as in the old petrol 500.

Fiat has yet to confirm which powertrain the 500 Hybrid will use, but it's expected to employ the same 1.0-litre three-cylinder mild-hybrid Firefly engine featured in the old 500 and Fiat Panda.

The presence of a manual gearbox rules out the 1.2-litre three-cylinder mild-hybrid Puretech engine used in a wide range of models under the Stellantis corporate umbrella, such as the new Fiat Grande Panda, because it has been offered exclusively with a six-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.

Production of the 500 Hybrid will begin in the fourth quarter of this year – earlier than the early 2026 deadline previously set by Fiat.

The move to retrofit an electric car with a combustion engine is unprecedented in the European car industry. 

Several reports in March 2024 suggested that the bold measure was borne out of two key challenges. 

First was the need to up production rates at the Mirafiori factory amid slow sales of the 500e and its Abarth 500e hot hatch sibling, which led Fiat to pause production on several occasions last year.

Meanwhile, it ended production of the old petrol 500 (which accounted for the majority of 500 sales), as the 17-year-old model fell foul of new EU legislation on cybersecurity, which would have required a costly rehomologation effort.

Fiat CEO Olivier François acknowledged the challenges, saying in a statement that the 500 Hybrid will boost production at Mirafiori "to ensure the plant’s productivity".

He added that launching a new combustion-engined 500 in response to flagging sales of the EV serves as "proof that social relevance is at the core of the brand mission".

Fiat previously said it would also invest some €100 million (£85m) into the 500e, with plans to redesign its platform for new battery technologies aimed at improving its affordability.

This suggests that an update for the EV is also due around 2026.