As it celebrates five years of Mercedes-Benz ownership, Yasa looks at the period of progress that has helped place its world-leading axial flux electric motor technology at the heart of the next generation of Mercedes-AMG electric performance
Yasa was founded in 2009 as a spin-out from the University of Oxford by Dr Tim Woolmer, its founder and CTO. Over more than 15 years, the company has developed a proprietary yokeless and segmented armature motor design, which it says offers up to three times the torque density and double the power of conventional radial flux motors, while being around 50% lighter and smaller.
Under Mercedes-Benz ownership, which began in July 2021, Yasa’s axial flux technology has entered a new phase. Joerg Miska, CEO, Yasa, said, “The last five years have been transformational for Yasa. As part of Mercedes-Benz, we have been able to accelerate our technology roadmap, invest in our UK facilities and bring our axial flux motors closer to the next generation of high-performance electric vehicles. We have retained the spirit, agility and engineering curiosity that have always defined YASA, while gaining the scale, support and long-term industrial strength of Mercedes-Benz. That combination is incredibly powerful.”
Major UK investment
In May 2025, the company officially opened its fully upgraded manufacturing facility in Yarnton, near Oxford. Backed by a £12m (US$15.9m) investment, the high-tech facility has been designed to support higher levels of precision, repeatability, quality and production scale, enabling Yasa to increase capacity beyond 25,000 units per year.
The 60,000ft2 base brings all production processes under one roof and incorporates advanced manufacturing technologies designed specifically for Yasa’s high-tech axial flux motors, including new coil and bar manufacturing cells, CNC coil winding, assembly and impregnation processes, laser stripping and brazing, increased rotor balancing accuracy, stator laser welding and complete stator quality control.
Construction will soon be completed on its brand-new headquarters at Bicester Motion, creating a bespoke state-of-the-art 90,000ft2 facility designed to provide a permanent Oxfordshire home for Yasa’s innovation, engineering, prototyping, development, operations and business support teams.
The past 12 months have also seen Yasa push the boundaries of electric motor power density. In 2025, the company achieved 550kW from a 13.1kg axial flux prototype motor, equivalent to 42kW/kg, before going further with a lighter 12.7kg version producing 750kW short-term peak output and achieving an unofficial power density benchmark of 59kW/kg.
Yasa founder and chief technology officer Dr Tim Woolmer said, “Yasa was founded on a simple but ambitious idea: that there was a better way to build an electric motor. Five years into Mercedes-Benz ownership, that idea has moved into a completely new phase. We are no longer only proving what axial flux technology can do; we are helping to industrialize it for some of the most demanding electric performance applications in the world. That is a major milestone for the whole Yasa team.”
Mercedes-AMG milestones
Earlier this year, Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe unveiled the first series-production Mercedes-AMG model to feature Yasa axial flux electric motor technology.
Developed around the Mercedes-AMG High Performance Electric Architecture, the new AMG GT 4-Door Coupe uses three compact Yasa axial flux motors, one at the front axle and two at the rear, helping to deliver exceptional power output, repeatable high-performance capability and greater drivetrain packaging flexibility.
Production of the axial flux motors commenced earlier this year at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Berlin-Marienfelde, Germany, establishing the site as a key center for high-performance electric motor technology within the Mercedes-Benz powertrain network.
“The last five years have been transformational for Yasa” – Joerg Miska, CEO, Yasa
The advanced production process brings together next-generation manufacturing techniques developed to support the precision, repeatability and performance demands of Mercedes-AMG. Across around 30,000m2 of production space, three halls and seven production lines, Mercedes-Benz combines highly automated manufacturing processes with laser technology, intelligent control systems, AI-based quality control and the expertise of highly skilled employees.
The process includes around 98 individual manufacturing steps, incorporating 65 processes new to Mercedes-Benz and 35 world-firsts, and has resulted in more than 30 patent applications.
The AMG GT 4-Door Coupe production car follows the Concept AMG GT XX, a pioneering technology program that previewed the performance potential of Yasa axial flux technology. The axial flux technology’s endurance credentials were further highlighted through the Concept AMG GT XX’s long-distance record run at Nardò in Italy, where the vehicle completed the equivalent of driving around the world in less than eight days and broke 25 long-distance records.
EXPLORE: The Concept AMG GT XX, achieved the impossible when it realized the equivalent of circumnavigating the globe in under eight days. APTI finds out how this feat was accomplished