Industry News: 1,877 HP might be your next Toyota/Lexus BEV by Yamaha Motor Co.

[G. David Felt]

Yamaha Motor Co. announced April 12, 2021 their new Hyper-EV motor allowing them to reach the highest output density for the EV class. In the past, Yamaha has been selling their first generation EV motor that had a range of 35 - 200 kW for auto's and mobility applications. Today's new generation of Hyper-EV motors now boasts output up to 350kW (469 hp) @ 800 volts per motor or a total of 1.4MW or 1,877 hp in a four motor AWD configuration.

Yamaha is taking EV motor development to a new industry leading level by leaving behind the module components mechanical and electrical separate units. This newly developed electric motor is a compact unit that combines mechanical and electrical as a single entity, integrating the gear, inverter into a single unit. This is in anticipation of installation of multiple units on a single vehicle.

Yamaha will be presenting this new motor line at the Automotive Engineering Exposition 2021 in Yokohama scheduled for May 26th to May 28th 2021.

More information is expected to be released at the auto engineering show, but one can make some assumptions based on the few details on this new motor line and past details of Yamaha EV motors. Torque vectoring and redundancy of controllers is a benefit of this compact single unit in a multiple motor application.

Consider also that Yamaha Motor Co has a considerable investment in ownership by Toyota Motor Company and since Toyota currently uses Yamaha ICE engines in certain Toyota/Lexus auto's, that this motor line could very well show up in Toyota's BEV product line that is coming. Toyota has also stated they will show off this year their 800 volt solid state battery system in a BEV that will launch a complete line of auto's for global sales. It would make sense that this motor could cover from entry level to luxury level and performance BEVs.

Another interesting take is this motor line could find it's way into 3rd party sellers of conversion products. Convert your ICE Chevrolet Avalanche to AWD four Yamaha Hyper-EV motors with 1,877 HP giving you a large potential FRUNK with a battery pack between the wheels for a low center of gravity.

Electric Motors | Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (yamaha-motor.com)

Yamaha Motor Begins Accepting Orders for Prototype Hyper-EV Electric Motor Development — New electric motor reaches 350 kW class in maximum output — - News releases | Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (yamaha-motor.com)

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[daves87rs]

Makes me wonder if it will be that easy....

[G. David Felt]

17 hours ago, daves87rs said:

Makes me wonder if it will be that easy....

I think as we move towards EV's just like GM has their connect and cruise motor, transmission and electrical harness with CPU that allows someone to update an old ICE auto with a modern power train, GM has committed to having connect and cruise EV conversion kits with choice of battery packs. 

I can see Yamaha doing the same thing and if not, a 3rd party company that will bundle the motor/controller with a battery pack and wiring for those that want to convert an auto to electrical.

[ccap41]

Oil filter, eh? I guess these don't have as minimal maintenance as expected. 

[Drew Dowdell]

5 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

Oil filter, eh? I guess these don't have as minimal maintenance as expected. 

It's gear oil like you would find in a rear differential... the service life for rear diff oil is between 30,000 and 150,000 miles depending on the manufacturer and driving style.  For an F-150 for example, normal duty without frequent towing has a cycle of 150,000 miles. If you tow all summer, they recommend every 30,000.

With an oil filter, that service interval will be very long... much longer than the length of time the initial leasees will have the vehicle. 

[balthazar]

90 weight would be tough to run thru a filter.

Surprised to see that 30K service interval. 

[Drew Dowdell]

2 hours ago, balthazar said:

90 weight would be tough to run thru a filter.

Surprised to see that 30K service interval. 

If it’s a conventional filter, sure, but there nothing indicating that it is aside from the outside shape. 
 

Even still, regular synthetic  motor oil is good for up to 12,000 miles in a gas engine. This would not have the heat nor the pollution from the combustion process to deal with. So, conservatively, double the life of the oil  and filter right there.

Or transmission fluid... that runs 100k through a filter these days just fine.

There are plenty of examples out there of oils lasting that long when not in an engine.

[G. David Felt]

4 hours ago, balthazar said:

90 weight would be tough to run thru a filter.

Surprised to see that 30K service interval. 

Not sure what the service interval will be, but I did find for Yamaha Electric golf carts that they recommend an SAE80 W90 high performance gear oil with filter change every 10 years or 10,000 hours. Knowing how little Golf carts are driven, I can see this not affecting the average buyer.

I would think it would be an equally long time on the gear oil for this electric motor.

[balthazar]

2 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Even still, regular synthetic  motor oil is good for up to 12,000 miles in a gas engine. This would not have the heat nor the pollution from the combustion process to deal with. So, conservatively, double the life of the oil  and filter right there.

Or transmission fluid... that runs 100k through a filter these days just fine.

There are plenty of examples out there of oils lasting that long when not in an engine.

I’m aware.

[daves87rs]

It’s easy to forget that EVs may run on electricity, but is still going to have many of the same car parts.....