Market Trends of Automotive Hub Motors Industry
Increasing Demand for Hub Motors from E-bike Segment
With the growing concerns and awareness to protect and preserve the environment for future generations, the need for zero-emission mobility has tremendously increased the demand for electric vehicles across the world. Also, the increased awareness about the health benefits of using E-Bikes has increased their production and usage. Consequently, the need for hub motors that are majorly used in E-bikes has also increased.
The primary benefit of using a hub motor in e-bikes is that it requires less maintenance; this is due to the fact that all the parts are located inside the motor casing, and this motor is entirely independent. Sometimes, the use of electric motors attached to gears might not be ideal due to the chance of gear tooth wear and eventually rendering the motor useless. Hence, the hub motors are usually preferred for light-duty applications like E-Bikes.
In September 2023, Indian automobile company Bajaj announced to launch of its scooter in an electric version with a more cost-effective hub motor, which was previously available in the market mid-mounted motor.
On the other hand, the gearless hub motor has no significant losses as there are no moving parts except for bearings. Apart from the benefits, an e-bike is noiseless, generates no carbon emissions, offers a low-cost mode of transportation, saves space, and ensures good health. Thus, owing to the advantages above, e-bikes are expected to become the future mode of transportation for short distances. Also, with the projected increase in E-Bike usage, especially in European and Asian regions, the usage of hub motors is expected to increase during the forecast period.
For example, according to Plugin India Electric Vehicles, the Indian electric two-wheeler market noted a significant 206% year-over-year increase in September 2022.
This factor, in turn, is expected to increase the demand for e-bikes and, consequently, the hub motors.
Asia-Pacific Leads the Market Share
Asia-Pacific is leading the hub motors market. The automotive hub motors market in this region is primarily driven by the demand from countries such as China, Japan, and some of the Southeast Asia countries. These countries have strong penetration of electric vehicles, making them the most prominent markets for the related components.
China has made a major contribution to hold the highest share of the Asia-Pacific hub motors market, owing to its high consumption of electric bikes, in order to tackle heavy traffic conditions as well as growing vehicle pollution in the country.
- According to the World Economic Forum, China remains the world's largest EV market, with 59% of global sales.
During the forecast period, the consumption of e-bikes is likely to continue to grow due to the decreasing purchase cost of e-bikes in the Chinese market.
In addition, India, in the past few years, experienced the exponential rise of e-bikes, with the sales rising double every year. The market also experienced higher sales with rising demand for e-bikes in last-mile deliveries.
- For example, in June 2023, Trigo Electric announced to buy 10,000 e-bikes from AMO Mobility for last-mile delivery options.
Japan also has a considerably high adoption of electric mobility. The country is a pioneer in the field of electric and hybrid vehicles, with companies like Toyota and Nissan being active in this field. This transition toward electric vehicles is another factor driving the growth of hub motors in the country.
Asia-Pacific holds the largest share of the global market due to a rush in the adoption of electric vehicles in emerging economies of this region.
