The company said it has already received inquiries about its products from more than 10 motorbike manufacturers, mainly in India
Japanese electric motors company Nidec is looking to spend $78 million in building a new building at its existing plant for motors for home appliances and automobiles, and plans to produce more than 1 million units per year by 2025.
This comes as the company looks to expand its presence in India’s electric vehicle market by producing motors for electric motorbikes.
The total floor area of Nidec’s plant in western Rajasthan will be expanded to approximately 16,000 sq. meters, double the current size. Before the new building is completed, a line will be installed this summer in the existing facility to begin production of wheel-integrated motors for small motorbikes and other products. They are to be supplied to local manufacturers.
The company said it has already received inquiries about its products from more than 10 motorbike manufacturers, mainly in India. In the future, the company will also make motors for small four-wheeled electric vehicles.
With about 13 million new motorbike sales per year, India’s market dwarfs that of Japan, which has annual sales of only 400,000. Nidec expects that more than 2 million motorbikes will be replaced by EVs by 2025, and it aims to capture a majority share of the market.
Its immediate competitors will be Chinese manufacturers. Few Chinese companies are expected to build new factories in India until relations between the two countries improve, and Nidec will use that time to take advantage of the Indian government’s preferential treatment for domestically produced products.
The company has also started mass-producing motors for electric motorbikes in China’s Zhejiang Province. These preparations are part of Nidec’s expansion in the production of motors for electric vehicles in general, which the company views as a priority.
