Volvo Cars says it is investing in the in-house design and development of electric motors for its next-generation models as the company aims to become a fully electric car maker. To this end, it has opened a brand-new electric motor lab in Shanghai, China, which comes in addition to ongoing e-motor development in Gothenburg, Sweden, and battery labs in China and Sweden.
Bringing the development of electric motors in-house will, Volvo hopes, enable its engineers to further optimize electric motors and the entire electric driveline, 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,” said Henrik Green, chief technology officer at Volvo Cars. “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 and Volvo says it will mainly focus on electric motor development for use in fully electric and hybrid cars based on the company’s forthcoming SPA 2 modular vehicle architecture.