Nidec Corporation announced that the Ni200Ex, the company’s 200kW e-axle traction motor system, has made its way into ZEEKR 001, an electric vehicle newly released by Geely Automobile Group under its premium Zeekr brand.

Developed based on the SEA (Sustainable Experience Architecture), which is the EV platform created by Geely Automobile Group’s ZEEKR Intelligent Technology, ZEEKR 001 is a premium EV in the shooting brake segment (4,970mm in length x 1,999mm in width x 1,560mm in height). The user can choose either a single-motor or a dual-motor type. In the latter’s case, the maximum output is 400kW, with a maximum torque of 768 N·m, a 0-100km/h sprint of 3.8 seconds, and a maximum speed of 200 km/h.

With an 86 kWh or a 100 kWh battery installed, ZEEKR 001 can travel up to 712 km (on the NEDC mode), while its battery can accommodate rapid charging of up to 360 kW. The vehicle can travel 120 km after a five-minute battery charging. The sale of this vehicle in China is slated for 2021, while its global sale is set to start in 2022.

Ni200Ex, Nidec’s E-Axle to be installed in ZEEKR 001, is the third model in the company’s E-Axle series, and the vehicle is the first one to adopt the traction motor system.

Although Nidec initially was planning to start mass-producing Ni200Ex in 2023, it accelerated the plan significantly in time for ZEEKR 001’s market launch to initiate the mass production in August of 2021.

Created out of Ni150Ex’s basic structure, Ni200Ex is a compact unit that adopts a light, thin, short, and small motor’s structure that is based on the magnetic circuit design-derived know-how and unique motor oil-cooling structure. They are both cultivated in the development of small precision motors—an area of Nidec’s specialty. Also, with an optimized design that employs second-generation inverters and other components, Ni200Ex contributes significantly to improving ZEEKR 001’s power, electricity consumption, and noise & vibration performances, and reducing the vehicle’s weight.

Nidec’s E-Axles are characterized by being compact and light-weight as a result of their fully integrated designs that combine motors, inverters and gears. Three of the Company’s E-Axel models that are already available commercially: Ni150Ex, the 150 kW model that Nidec started mass-producing April 2019 (earlier post); Ni100Ex, the 100kW model whose mass-production was launched in November 2020; and Ni200Ex, the model that has recently been incorporated into ZEEKR 001.

In addition to these models, Nidec is currently developing two other ones: Ni70Ex and Ni50Ex. Armed with this world-class comprehensive lineup, the company is capable of meeting the wide variety of the needs for its E-Axles to be installed in the vehicles of Segments A - E. Nidec has set a target of achieving a 40 - 45% global share in the EV traction motor market by 2030.

As Nidec aims to achieve ¥10 trillion (US$88 billion) in sales in 2030, its automotive business, particularly the traction motor enterprise, is expected to play a pivotal role. After launching the production of the E-Axle traction motor system in April 2019, Nidec has sold more than 200,000 of the units in total by the end of August, and aims to hit the 10 million mark in 2030.

Selling traction motors alone as well, the Company is capable of conducting R&D and production of traction motors as both modules and stand-alone units.

E-Axle-equipped vehicles and their models as of 14 October 2021 (in the order of adoption):

1. GAC Aion New Energy Automobile: Aion S (Ni150Ex, but vehicles of some other grades are equipped with Ni100Ex.)

2. GAC Toyota Motor: iA5 (Ni150Ex)

3. GAC Aion New Energy Automobile: Aion LX (Ni150Ex)

4. GAC NIO New Energy Automobile Technology: HYCAN 007 (Ni150Ex)

5. Geely Automobile: Geometry C (Ni150Ex)

6. GAC Aion New Energy Automobile: Aion V (Ni150Ex)

7. Guangqi Honda Automobile: EA6 (Ni150Ex)

8. GAC Aion New Energy Automobile: Aion Y (Ni100Ex)

9. Geely Automobile: Geometry A (Ni150Ex)

10. Zeekr Intelligent Technology: ZEEKR 001 (Ni200Ex)