Saietta Group PLC is a UK-based global engineering business specialising in the design, development, and supply of complete powertrains for

electric vehicle An electric vehicle (EV) is a motor vehicle whose propulsion is powered fully or mostly by electricity. EVs encompass a wide range of transportation modes, including road vehicle, road and rail vehicles, electric boats and Submersible, submer ...

s (EVs) including scooters, buses, and marine applications. Since 2017, Saietta has engineered several electric motor technologies including proprietary AFT (

axial flux motor An axial flux motor (axial gap motor, or pancake motor) is a geometry of electric motor construction where the gap between the rotor and stator, and therefore the direction of magnetic flux between the two, is aligned parallel with the axis of ro ...

) and RFT (radial flux motor) technology. This technology is mated to controllers and transmissions. The design is modular, enabling the delivery of both high and low-voltage e-motor solutions. Saietta was originally financed by a combination of private funding and

grants Grant or Grants may refer to: People * Grant (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Grant (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters ** Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), the 18th president of the U ...

from the

Advanced Propulsion Centre The Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) is a non-profit organisation that facilitates funding to UK-based research and development projects developing net-zero emission technologies. It is headquartered at the University of Warwick in Coventry, Eng ...

, Niche Vehicle Network and

Innovate UK Innovate UK is the United Kingdom's innovation agency, which provides money and support to organisations to make new products and services. It is a non-departmental public body operating at arm's length from the Government as part of the UK Res ...

Though this endeavor, technology designs were developed and the corresponding

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

registrations were filed. In June 2021, Saietta was listed on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market, raising gross proceeds of £37.5 million with an approximate market capitalisation of £102.1 million at the issue price. In April 2022, Saietta Group announced that it was opening a former ZF Automotive manufacturing facility in Sunderland, UK, with a goal to produce 100,000 motors per annum in the first phase. The agreement (what agreement?) enabled Saietta to meet its stated objective of establishing a UK pilot production facility significantly ahead of its 2024 target. Current business areas include market research and product definition, CAE simulation, motor-controller electrical development, mechanical integration, prototype building, rigorous testing on rigs (not sure what rigs are), and building 20 miles of private roads. Saietta Group PLC entered administration on 4 March 2024. The assets and Intellectual Property (IP) rights of Saietta Group PLC were acquired by EXEDY Group in April 2024.

History

Founding

Saietta was originally incorporated under the name Agility Racing Limited in 2008, with the aim of becoming a manufacturer of

electric motorcycles Electric motorcycles and scooters are plug-in electric vehicles with two or three wheels. Power is supplied by a rechargeable battery that drives one or more electric motors. Electric scooters are distinguished from motorcycles by having a s ...

. In 2011, it changed its name to Agility Global Limited and on 6 June 2015, changed its name to Saietta Group Limited. Under the Agility Racing Ltd and Agility Global Ltd names, the Group developed and marketed a number of working prototype variants of high-powered electric motorcycles under the brand name “Saietta” – meaning “thunderbolt” in the Italian language.. In 2015, the Group relocated from

central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...

to its current headquarters in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, UK, which provided expanded high-tech facilities for design, development and testing and development, on a former military air field, with test and validation track availability.

The Pivot to Electric Drive Solutions

From 2015 to 2017, Saietta pivoted away from developing electric motorcycles and worked with a third-party electric motor manufacturer. At this point, Saietta was focused on developing and producing generic DC axial flux motors for a range of potential applications, including race tuned electric motorcycles, special one-off projects and

light commercial vehicle A light commercial vehicle (LCV) in the European Union, Australia and New Zealand is a commercial carrier vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of no more than 3.5 metric tons (tonnes). The LCV designation is also occasionally used in both Cana ...

s for the

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

n market. Whilst the performance of the motors was impressive, there was limited commercial success.

Stealth Mode

From 2017 onwards, Saietta started designing a new generation of axial flux motor, which would be capable of low-cost,

mass-market The term "mass market" refers to a market for goods produced on a large scale for a significant number of end consumers. The mass market differs from the niche market in that the former focuses on consumers with a wide variety of backgrounds with ...

production as well as having the performance attributes of more expensive competitors. Over the next three years, the company focussed on the design, development, engineering, and testing of this technology. During this time, the business was financed by a combination of private funding and grants from the Advanced Propulsion Centre, Niche Vehicle Network and Innovate UK. Saietta's first working prototypes of its axial flux motor technology were developed into a low-volume production model (known as the AFT 140). At the end of 2020, Saietta secured its first major commercial industry contracts. Saietta exited stealth mode at the end of 2020 and is actively commercialising its products with manufacturing partners in multiple markets around the world. In November 2021 the company acquired e-Traction, a supplier of electric drivetrains and high voltage power electronics for heavy goods vehicles and buses, from

Evergrande Group The China Evergrande Group was a Chinese property developer, and it was the second largest in China by sales. It was founded in 1996 by Hui Ka Yan (Xu Jiayin). It sold apartments mostly to upper- and middle-income dwellers. Evergrande was i ...

. In the same month it also launched Propel, a Dutch Saietta subsidiary that develops electric marine propulsion solutions based on axial flux technology

Administration and Acquisition

Saietta Group PLC entered administration on 4 March 2024. The assets and Intellectual Property (IP) rights of Saietta Group PLC were acquired by EXEDY Group in April 2024.

References