Global demand sees UK electric motor firm expand

A new plant to produce electric motors to power everything from scooters to buses is planned by Oxfordshire-based engineering and tech company Saietta Group.

As part of its expansion, energy expert and former Goldman Sachs managing director Emmanuel Clair has been appointed the group’s non-executive chairman.

The company’s new sustainable production facilities powered by solar panels will be funded by a fresh investment round.

Saietta’s lightweight and efficient motor has played its part in setting world speed records for electric powered aircraft and boats, as well as launching the first manned electric helicopter flight and powering the first Isle of Man TT Zero victory.

Continuing the roll-out of its axial flux traction (AFT) motors to the mass EV market, the UK company plans to sell its technology under licence in Asia and the rest of the world.

“We have now reached the point at which the last three years of planning can be realised,” Saietta Group chief executive Wicher Kist says.

“To have seen market demand increase so significantly means that a new round of funding will allow us to capitalise on the wave of vehicles that will be entering development soon.”

Kist says he and Clair have worked together for the last three years.

A prominent investor and board advisor at Saietta since 2017, Clair has decades of relevant experience in engineering, investment and renewable industries.

“I have been watching the growth of e-mobility for the last five years, and my decision to accept the role at Saietta Group is a commitment to the company’s potential, which I think will be transformative to the entire mobility industry,” Clair says.

Leading OEMs are among Saietta Group’s clients.