Few components have more potential effects on jobs than electric motors. Overall, an electric vehicle can have 50 percent fewer parts than a combustion vehicle, and require 30 percent less labor. That difference is particularly acute for electric motors, which have few parts beyond rotors and stators.
There will be many new jobs building batteries and electronics, but CLEPA, the European automotive suppliers’ lobby group, says up to 500,000 jobs could be lost overall, especially at Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers that produce internal combustion engine components.
When EV adoption rates were miniscule, the majority of automakers outsourced engine production to Tier 1 suppliers, but that is changing, Petschenyk said. Just 35 percent of electric motors are now built in-house, he said, but that will grow to 60 percent by 2030, as automakers seek to retain jobs and gain control over the EV value chain.
“As internal combustion engine production is reduced, they will start using the same factory space to focus on electric motors,” he said.
Renault Group has long made its own motors at its engine factory in Cleon, France. BMW builds motors at its Dingolfing, Germany, factory. VW plans to build up to 1.4 million electric motors for its MEB platform annually starting in 2023, at factories in Kassel, Germany (Europe and North America) and Tianjin, China.
Stellantis established a joint venture (as PSA Group) with the Japanese motor maker Nidec in 2017, with the first motors scheduled to roll off the line at the Tremery, France, factory at the end of this year. CEO Carlos Tavares has said Stellantis must “master its destiny” in the EV value chain to make up for lower margins. All told, he has said, in-house battery, inverter and motor production could save 10 percent on the cost of the powertrain.
At Mercedes, “In-house electric motors are a key part of our strategy, with a clear focus in efficiency and cost,” said Schäfer, the board of management menber.
Volvo is in a transition phase between “make” and “buy,” Stiegler said. Its current generation of EVs, including the XC40 Recharge compact SUV and C40 compact sedan, are using motors from the Valeo-Siemens eAutomotive JV, but production is likely to be internalized in the future.
“The most important thing is to have the best available technology on the market in the cars as fast as possible,” Stiegler said. “It’s more a question of time to market for us.”
Volvo, though, will need many more motors to reach a goal of 50 percent EV sales by 2025. In December 2020, Volvo committed to invest about $83 million to build its own motors at its factory in Skovde, Sweden. The transition will start with assembly of motors for the next generation of Volvo EVs, which will start to debut this year, followed by full production “in mid-decade.”
