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US – a country that runs on cars, has highest car ownership of 800 cars per 1000 inhabitants. US has always been home to bulky cars and trucks. The V6 and V8 engines have been a hallmark of American car manufacturers and consumers.
The new car market in US peaked in 2016 with 17.4M units and has been declining ever since, reaching 17.2 M units in 2018. Electric vehicles accounted for ~4.5% share in 2020 with 328,000 units, Tesla Model 3 and Model Y held 51% of the market and Tesla overall held 62% of the market
In US, the electric car craze started when Nissan launched its first EV, Leaf in Dec 2010.Although, US was one of the first market to receive an electric car 8 years ago but the EV(BEV+PHEV) share in annual new car sales is still abysmally low.
The lukewarm interest in EVs can be attributed to extremely slow charging infrastructure growth, limited number of car models on sale, lower gas prices and absence of any EV mandate like China.
EV sales in US(world`s second biggest EV market) have been driven equally by consumer demand and $7,500 Federal tax credit, unlike China, where EV sales are completely legislation and incentive driven.
The market for automotive industry and electric vehicles has been growing in the US due to the wide adoption of electric vehicles across the country. Many companies have taken contracts and signed agreements that are associated with development and sale of traction motors with government agencies.
The EV traction motor market in US is in a growth mode after the launch of mass segment, long range models from Tesla and GM. A strong push for the local traction motor market came in 2018, when Tesla started delivering its mass segment EV,” Model 3”. In 2020 Model Y deliveries started which accounted for 79,000 units, 10,000 lesser than Model 3.
Among the biggest challenge for the EV traction motor market in US will be the phase out of tax credits. Tesla has already sold more than 200,000 cars in total, the federal $7,500 tax credit for its cars was cut to $3,750 in January 2019 – and will be further reduced to $1,875 by H2 2019.
The Detroit Big 3 are coming in to the market. Ford showcased an all-electric F-150, which is their highest selling vehicle.
Ford is also collaborating with Volkswagen and utilising their MEB platform for their vehicles. Ford launched Mustang Mach E as a SUV to compete with Tesla Model Y. The drive module will be supplied by BorgWarner. Ford has also invested $500 million in Rivian.
GM launched the Ultium platform which will also have the first wireless BMS in commercial usage. GM plans to launch 22 vehicles on this platform by 2023 including the electric Hummer. GM and LG will collaborate for development of batteries in this platform. The traction motor will be built in house
An important trend in the global and US EV traction motor market is active collaboration between OEMs and suppliers to produce motors. To know more about global trends, read our report titled Global EV Traction motor market Honda has setup a company called EM motive with Hitachi to manufacture electric traction motors on a bigger scale, not just to source it for itself but also to sell it to other companies.
MAHLE is working on a new type of magnet-free electric motor that doesn’t use rare earth elements.
This not only makes production more ecologically friendly, but it also saves money and ensures resource security.
The inductive, and hence contactless, power transmission is a key characteristic of the new motor, allowing it to function wear-free and efficiently at high speeds.
At practically all operational points, the efficiency is above 95%, a level previously only achieved by Formula E racing cars.
MAHLE has thus managed to combine the advantages of numerous electric motor ideas into a single offering. This new technology is extremely scalable, so it may be utilised in a wide range of vehicles, from subcompacts to commercial trucks.
As of March 21, there were 21(BEV +PHEV) car models on sale in US, only 16 are BEV and the rest are PHEVs. The top 5 electric vehicles sold in US included three models from Tesla. Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet.
In 2020, Tesla accounted for 62% of EV(BEV) sales in 2020 in US. Model 3 alone accounted for sales volume of ~89k units and Tesla Model Y accounted for 79k. Tesla held top 3 positions among most sold plugged in vehicles.
About 71% of the 3 Tesla models on sale were specced with dual traction motors, giving it a very high 68% market share of US EV traction motor market.
The coming years, multiple start-ups such as Rivian, Nikola, Lucid etc. will be making their way into the market and will be competing along with big manufacturers who want a share of the plugged-in vehicle market. Hybrid vehicles are also seeing an increased sales across USA.
The growth in EV traction motor market in US will depend a lot on future policies of the biggest EV adopter state i.e. California. Its Zero Emission vehicle program has been adopted by more than 9 other states in US.
In 2018, California Governor signed an executive order with total $2.5B worth investment in electric and hydrogen charging infrastructure. It also set a goal of having five million electric vehicles on the California’s roads by 2030 and is actively promoting electric buses in public transportation fleets.
The Biden administration plans to electrify the federal fleet and this will push the drive across the country for electric vehicles. The landscape will also affect development of charging stations and other infrastructure.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused sectors around the world to experience disruptions in the supply chain operations due to travel restrictions, lockdowns as well as due to halt in the manufacturing activities.
Many motor manufacturing and development companies are codependent on raw materials and intermediate products, whose supply disruptions have caused significant impact on the manufacturing and delivery of finished products.
China and Taiwan are the key electronic and critical parts manufacturers in the world, whose manufacturing units have been under regulation and lockdown disrupting the supply chain of the entire world.
Due to the travel restrictions and stringent norms put in place in accordance to the pandemic protocol, the import and export of resources across the globe has disrupted causing huge economic losses. Some of the small business units and manufacturers are estimated to have gone out of business or acquired by the lead players of the market.
However, with the relaxation in the pandemic protocols manufacturing units have started operations in less than 100% capacity which has contributed to the recovery of the market.
The automotive market suffered significant revenue reduction during the first quarter of the year 2020. The net sales of the company BorgWagner decreased by 43% in the second quarter of 2020 as compared to the year 2019.
However, the company recovered in the third quarter when the net sales increased by 2%. The company Schaeffler recorded a decrease in the net sales by 22.9% during the first half of the year 2020.
The market is set to recover due to the expanding demand for zero-emission vehicles globally with massive research and development investments which have been aiming for improved efficiency and performance.
Traction motors being the major operating parts of an electric vehicle, are likely to drive the expansion of this market. The incentives and subsidies awarded for the purchase of EV across the globe as well as the rising fuel costs for conventional vehicles is expected to enhance the demand for Evs and with further extension, the demand for traction motors.
MAHLE provides electric vehicle manufacturers with innovative drive systems that deliver optimal performance. MAHLE traction motors are suited for a wide range of applications, including mild and full hybrid vehicles, vehicles with a range extender, completely electric vehicles, fuel cell vehicles, and even two-wheelers. MAHLE traction motors make e-mobility dependable and economical.
For the end user, high power density, efficiency, and a flexible design give compelling sales arguments: increased driving enjoyment, a longer cruising range, and a lower purchasing price.
Tata Motors has launched the updated Tigor EV, which is powered by the high-performance Ziptron motor from the Nexon SUV. The Tigor Xpres T, a low-powered variation of the Tigor geared primarily for the fleet market, currently uses 16.5kWh or 21.5kWh li-ion batteries instead of the 30.2kWh battery pack.
The front wheels of the new Tigor EV will be driven by a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM), which will provide 128 horsepower and 245 Nm of peak torque.
About 60% of traction motors are manufactured in-house by various OEMs therefore in this unique scenario, car manufacturers have a bigger market share than traction motor suppliers.
Toshiba, Tesla and General Motors have been manufacturing traction motors in US for more than 5 years now.
The EV traction motor manufacturers in US are facing serious problems in terms of electrical steel availability and many car manufacturers are reliant on imports from Asia.
Development of traction motors and combining them with other developments will be the focus of OEMs as they have to challenge efficiency and also increase profits by inhousing possible components.
The company BorgWarner reported the results of the second quarter of the year 2021 with net sales worth $3,758 million which was a significant increase of 164% from the second quarter results of the year 2020.
The company recently completed the acquisition of 89.08% of AKASOL AG. The company is also set to supply integrated drive modules to the Hyundai Motor group of electric vehicles by the year 2023.
The modules will include state-of-the-art electric motor gear box and integrated power electronics new iDM. The modules support the company’s mission of producing clean and efficient vehicles. The company has also started the expansion of starter motors for Hyundai in Brazil. The motor is now also incorporated in Hyundai’s HB20 turbo T-GDI as well as Creta’s 1.6 L Gamma engine for people with disabilities.
Tesla Inc. has surpassed $1 billion in its quarterly profit for the April-June quarter of 2021 for the first time setting a milestone. Its revenue nearly doubled to about $12 billion from the last year earning $1.02 per share. It now boasts a market value of approximately $630 billion which is greater than any automaker. Its Model Y LR has been sold out for new car registrations for the third quarter of 2021.
The company Siemens AG recently announced the results of the third quarter for the year 2021. The company recorded total revenue worth $23.9 billion in the third quarter of the year 2021, which was a significant increase from $16.2 billion recorded in the third quarter of the year 2020.
The company is set to partner with the automotive component supplier Schaeffler to develop an intelligent diagnostics drive system. The company will integrate its IIoT platform Sidrive IQ with Schaeffler to deliver the drive system.
The company Hyundai Mobis has announced the investment in two of the global technology leaders with a total worth of $20 million in ACVC Partners and MOTUS Ventures in the Silicon Valley.
The company has also been investing in technical companies across Korea to develop radar sensors as well as in-cabin sensing technology for commercial vehicles. The company released the financial reports for the first quarter of the year 2021 with sales worth $8.3 billion which was increased from $7.1 billion recorded in the year 2020 for the first quarter.