What is an axial flux motor and why does it matter for India's EV and wind energy future? A complete technical guide from Solario Technologies.
In October 2025, a British engineering company called YASA quietly broke a record that most of the world's automotive press completely missed. They built an electric motor that produces 750 kilowatts of peak power — roughly 1,000 horsepower — while weighing just 12.7 kilograms. To put that in context: most petrol engines that deliver similar power tip the scales at over 200 kilograms. That single motor, smaller than a microwave oven, set a new world record for power-to-weight ratio at 59 kilowatts per kilogram.
The technology that made this possible is called the axial flux motor. And while it's quietly powering the world's most advanced electric supercars, hypersonic aircraft prototypes, and military drones, India's mainstream automotive and renewable energy industries are barely beginning to wake up to its potential. This guide explains what axial flux motors are, how they work, why they're considered the future of electric propulsion, and what their arrival in India means for the country's electric vehicle and wind energy sectors.
What is an Axial Flux Motor?
An axial flux motor is a type of electric motor in which the magnetic flux flows parallel to the rotation axis of the shaft — that is, the magnetic field moves in the same direction as the spinning shaft, from one face of the rotor to the other.
This is fundamentally different from the conventional electric motor design you find in nearly every appliance, car, and industrial application around the world. That conventional design is called a radial flux motor, and in it, the magnetic flux flows outward from the centre of the shaft toward the cylindrical outer wall of the motor — perpendicular to the shaft's rotation axis.
The visual difference is striking. A radial flux motor looks like a cylinder: long, tubular, sausage-shaped. An axial flux motor looks like a pancake or a thick coin: flat, disc-shaped, with the shaft running through the centre of a much shorter, wider housing.
This geometric difference is not cosmetic. It changes how the motor produces torque, how heat is managed, how much copper and magnet material is needed, and ultimately how efficient the motor is at converting electrical energy into mechanical motion. The axial flux design produces significantly more torque per kilogram than a radial flux motor of the same power rating — typically two to three times more torque density. This is the central reason it has become the preferred choice for applications where weight and space are critical: electric aircraft, performance EVs, and as we'll see later, the next generation of small wind turbines.
The history of the axial flux motor is older than most people assume. Michael Faraday's original 1831 motor — the very first electric motor ever built — was actually an axial flux design. Yet for the next 170 years, radial flux motors dominated industry because they were easier to manufacture with the tooling and materials available at the time. It is only in the last fifteen years, with advances in permanent magnet materials, automated winding, and computer-controlled stator manufacturing, that axial flux motors have become commercially viable at scale.
How an Axial Flux Motor Works: The Physics Made Simple
To understand the axial flux motor, picture two flat metal discs facing each other, separated by a small gap. One disc — the stator — is bolted to the motor housing and does not move. It contains a series of copper coil windings arranged in a circular pattern around its face. When electrical current flows through these coils, each coil becomes an electromagnet, generating a magnetic field that points outward from the disc face, along the rotation axis.
The other disc — the rotor — sits parallel to the stator and is mounted on the rotating shaft. Embedded on its face are powerful permanent magnets, typically made from neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) rare earth alloy. These magnets have their own permanent magnetic field, with north and south poles arranged around the disc.
When current flows through the stator coils in a precisely timed sequence — controlled by the motor's electronic controller — the coils generate a rotating magnetic field. This field interacts with the permanent magnets on the rotor face. Since opposite poles attract and like poles repel, the rotor is pulled into rotation by the magnetic forces. The faster the controller switches the current in the stator coils, the faster the rotor spins.
In a double-sided axial flux motor — the configuration used in most high-performance applications including YASA's record-breaking design — the rotor disc is sandwiched between two stator discs, one on each side. This effectively doubles the magnetic force acting on the rotor at any instant, dramatically increasing torque density without increasing motor diameter. It also balances the axial magnetic forces on the rotor's bearings, reducing wear and extending motor life.
Cooling is another area where axial flux geometry offers a structural advantage. In a radial flux motor, the heat-generating copper windings are wrapped around the inside of a cylindrical housing, deep inside the motor where heat cannot easily escape. In an axial flux motor, the stator windings sit on flat, exposed disc faces, which can be directly cooled with liquid cooling channels running through the stator structure. This means axial flux motors can sustain much higher continuous power outputs before overheating, which is why they're preferred for demanding applications like Formula E race cars and electric helicopter propulsion.
Axial Flux vs Radial Flux: The Differences That Matter
The technical differences between axial flux and radial flux motors translate into very real performance differences for the end user. We've written a detailed comparison of both motor types, but here's a high-level summary of how they stack up:
Power density: Axial flux motors typically deliver two to three times the power per kilogram of comparable radial flux motors. The YASA 750 kW motor mentioned earlier sets a benchmark at 59 kW/kg. The best mass-produced radial flux motor for EVs (used in Tesla's high-end models) operates around 5–8 kW/kg.
Torque density: Even more dramatic. Axial flux designs deliver three to four times the torque-per-kilogram of radial flux equivalents. This is the single biggest reason they're used in performance EVs — they can deliver instant, brutal acceleration without needing a massive heavy motor.
Efficiency: Axial flux motors operate at 95% efficiency or higher across most of their power range. Radial flux motors typically peak at 92–94% efficiency and drop off at low loads and high loads. The 2–3% efficiency difference sounds small but compounds significantly over thousands of operating hours, especially for applications like wind turbines that run continuously.
Cooling: Axial flux motors are easier to cool effectively, allowing them to sustain peak power for longer durations.
Size: Axial flux motors are dramatically shorter along the axis than radial flux motors of the same power. They're wider in diameter, but the overall package is much more compact for the power produced. This matters for in-wheel motor designs, electric aircraft, and any application where space along the drive axis is limited.
Cost: Currently, axial flux motors are more expensive to manufacture due to the precision required in stator-rotor alignment and the use of high-grade neodymium magnets. The cost gap is closing rapidly as manufacturing automation improves, but as of 2026, axial flux motors typically cost 25–40% more than equivalent radial flux units. This is the primary reason they have not yet replaced radial flux motors in mass-market applications.
Manufacturing complexity: Axial flux motors require extremely tight tolerances. The air gap between rotor and stator is typically less than 1 millimetre, and any deviation under load causes performance loss or, in extreme cases, the rotor disc contacting the stator and destroying both. Modern CNC manufacturing and precision balancing equipment has made this manageable, but it's why axial flux production lines look more like aerospace machine shops than traditional motor factories.
Why the World's Premium Electric Vehicles Switched to Axial Flux
If you want to understand why axial flux is being called the future of electric propulsion, look at which vehicles use it.
Ferrari SF-90 Stradale — the company's first plug-in hybrid supercar — uses three electric motors, including front axial flux units developed in partnership with YASA. The compact, flat design of these motors allowed Ferrari engineers to fit electric front-wheel drive into a chassis originally designed for a transverse mid-engine V8. A radial flux motor of the same power rating would not have physically fit.
Mercedes-Benz EQXX — the experimental ultra-efficiency electric sedan that completed a 1,202-kilometre real-world drive on a single charge — used an axial flux motor developed by YASA. Mercedes acquired YASA outright in 2021 specifically to bring this technology in-house for future production EQ-class vehicles, which is one of the strongest signals from a mainstream automaker that axial flux is considered the long-term technology direction.
Koenigsegg Gemera and Quark — the Swedish hypercar maker developed its own in-house axial flux motor called the Quark, weighing just 30 kg while producing 250 kW of power. The Gemera uses three of these motors in combination with a small internal combustion engine.
Lotus Evija — the all-electric British hypercar — uses four axial flux motors, one for each wheel, producing a combined 1,470 kW (nearly 2,000 horsepower).
Beyond automotive, axial flux motors are powering the next generation of electric aviation: eVTOL ("flying taxi") aircraft from companies like Joby Aviation and Lilium, military drones used by NATO forces, and high-performance industrial robots. The common thread across every one of these applications is that weight and power density matter more than absolute cost.
This is also true of small wind turbines, which is where the technology is starting to disrupt India's renewable energy landscape — but more on that shortly. (For an in-depth look at how axial flux motors are reshaping wind energy specifically, see our dedicated guide on axial flux wind turbines.)
Why India Has Almost No Axial Flux Manufacturers
India is the world's third-largest electric vehicle market by volume in 2026, and yet domestic manufacturing of axial flux motors remains almost entirely absent. There are exceptions — Tresa Motors launched the FLUX 350 axial flux platform for electric trucks in 2023, Naxatra Lab unveiled an axial flux EV powertrain in late 2022, and Agni Motors has been working on axial flux designs for two-wheelers — but these are early-stage efforts compared to the established Western and Chinese players.
The reasons are structural and worth understanding because they affect Indian buyers' choices today.
Rare earth dependency. High-performance axial flux motors require neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets in significant quantities. China controls roughly 90% of the global supply chain for rare earth magnets, and India currently imports nearly all of its NdFeB magnets from China. Without secure domestic supply, large-scale axial flux manufacturing in India carries significant geopolitical and currency risk that most manufacturers are unwilling to bear.
Manufacturing precision. Axial flux motor production requires CNC tolerances of 0.05 mm or finer for stator-rotor alignment. India's general industrial CNC base is improving rapidly, but the specialised tooling — particularly the precision balancing equipment for high-RPM rotor discs — is largely European and Japanese, and expensive to import.
Engineering talent. Designing axial flux motors that achieve commercially competitive performance requires deep expertise in electromagnetic field simulation, thermal management, and high-frequency power electronics. India's electric motor engineering schools have historically focused on radial flux topologies because that's what industry demanded. The talent pipeline is shifting, but it's a multi-year lag.
Capital intensity. A production line capable of building axial flux motors at meaningful scale requires capital investment in the range of ₹100–500 crore depending on volume targets. For India's typical small and medium enterprise renewable energy sector, this is prohibitive without significant strategic backing.
These constraints are why, in 2026, the only practical way for an Indian household or business to access axial flux motor technology is to buy products made overseas or to work with the small handful of Indian companies that have managed to either import axial flux units directly or partner with international manufacturers to bring proven designs into the Indian market.
Axial Flux in India's Wind Energy Future
The application that matters most to Solario Technologies — and to our customers — is the use of axial flux motors in small wind turbines designed for Indian homes, farms, and small industrial installations.
Conventional small wind turbines in India almost universally use radial flux generators because that's what's cheap and available locally. The problem with this choice becomes obvious when you measure the actual performance of these turbines under Indian wind conditions. Most of India outside the coastal Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Karnataka wind corridors experiences average wind speeds in the 3–5 metre-per-second range — well below the rated wind speeds at which conventional turbines reach peak efficiency.
A radial flux generator at low wind speeds operates at a fraction of its rated efficiency. The cogging torque — the residual magnetic attraction that the rotor must overcome to start spinning — is high enough in a radial flux design that turbines often fail to start at all in light winds, sitting idle while wind energy is available but the system can't capture it.
An axial flux generator behaves fundamentally differently. The flat, disc-shaped rotor has dramatically lower cogging torque, meaning it can start spinning at wind speeds as low as 1.5–2 metres per second. It also maintains high efficiency across a much wider RPM range, meaning a wind turbine equipped with an axial flux generator captures useful energy from gusts and lulls that a radial flux turbine misses entirely.
For Indian conditions, this is the difference between a wind turbine that generates 1,200 units of electricity per year and one that generates 2,000 units from the same wind site. Over the 15–20 year lifetime of a wind turbine, that gap compounds into a fundamentally different return on investment.
This is the gap Solario Technologies was founded to close. As the official India launch partner for the Cloud Arc Maris helical wind turbine — the world's most efficient small wind turbine design, originally developed by the Dutch company Archimedes — Solario brings axial-flux-equipped wind turbines to Indian residential and small-commercial buyers. Our vertical axis turbine catalogue and horizontal axis turbine range are designed specifically for the wind conditions Indian customers actually experience, not the optimistic wind speeds quoted on imported product datasheets.
If you're considering a wind turbine for your home or business, the single most important question to ask any seller is what type of generator the turbine uses. If they don't know, or if they tell you "radial flux" and treat it as no big deal, you now know enough to ask better questions before spending lakhs on a system that may not deliver in your wind conditions.
Final Thoughts
The axial flux motor is not a new invention. It is the original electric motor concept, rediscovered and re-engineered with the materials and manufacturing precision that 2026 makes possible. Its advantages — power density, torque density, efficiency, and compactness — are not marginal. They are the kind of step-change that historically reshapes entire industries.
For India's electric vehicle and renewable energy sectors, the question is no longer whether axial flux technology will become dominant. That has already been decided by Ferrari, Mercedes, Lotus, Koenigsegg, YASA, and dozens of aerospace and defence companies. The question is how quickly Indian manufacturers will close the gap, and which Indian companies will be first to bring genuinely competitive axial-flux-equipped products to market.
At Solario Technologies, we believe that gap has to be closed at the product level first — by getting axial-flux-equipped wind turbines into Indian homes and businesses — and the manufacturing capability will follow the demand. Every Cloud Arc Maris turbine we install in India is one more data point that this technology works in Indian conditions, and one more reason for Indian manufacturers and policymakers to take it seriously.
For weekly deep-dives into wind energy, motor technology, and renewable energy decisions for Indian households, subscribe to the ER Harsh YouTube channel, where the team behind Solario Technologies publishes new educational content every week.
About the Author
Harsh Chaudhary is the Founder and Director of Solario Technologies Pvt. Ltd., an India-based renewable energy manufacturer specialising in vertical and horizontal axis wind turbines, hybrid solar-wind systems, and EV charging infrastructure. He runs the YouTube channel @erharshh, which has crossed 45,000 subscribers and 38 million total views, producing educational content on renewable energy technology for Indian audiences. Solario Technologies is the official India launch partner for the Cloud Arc Maris helical wind turbine by Archimedes. Reach the team at solariotechnology@gmail.com.