An electric vehicle with an axial flux motor comes from Mercedes.

Launched last week, Mercedes’ Vision One-Eleven concept excited us more with its engine technology than its extraordinary design. Because the axial flux motors that power the concept are coming to revolutionize the electric vehicle industry with their high-performance values.

The axial flux motor type, first patented by Nikola Tesla in 1889, was defeated by the radial flux, which is the most common DC motor type today. It can be designed and produced more easily, although it has existed for a long time. However, with the spread of electric vehicles and the increase in investment in the development of more efficient motors, the demand for the axial flux type has started to increase rapidly.

Mercedes, which bought the British startup YASA in 2021, is one of the automakers that carries out the most intensive work in this field. The German giant, which presented an axial flux model for the first time with Vision One-Eleven, can place the axial flux motors it has developed with one-third the weight and one-third volume compared to a normal electric motor, directly behind the wheel.

Axial flux motors, which have a much higher power and torque density compared to other types of motors, also reduce the need for rare elements and other expensive materials. The advantage of this torque-rich motor is that, unlike a radial flux motor, the electromagnetic flow flows parallel to the axis of rotation rather than perpendicular to it. In this way, it is stated that both power and torque production increase and it is possible to stay at high power/torque levels for a longer time.

Mercedes plans to launch the first axial flux motors, which it will produce at its own facilities in Berlin, in 2024, along with the electric G-Wagon, EQG. The EQG, which is expected to have four engines, will thus achieve both high performance and high maneuverability. With the increase in production volume, we will start to see axial flux engine/engines in many more Mercedes vehicles.