Nidec Corp will spend 200 billion yen (roughly $ 1.9 billion) on a new electric vehicle engine plant in Serbia in an effort to attract more attention from automakers ditching combustion engines, Nikkei reported.
Nidec founder Shigenobu Nagamori said he wants at least 35% market share in energy-efficient electric motors by 2030, which is expected to grow tenfold to $ 30 billion a year by then.
The new technology is expected to make electric vehicles more affordable and help reduce vehicle carbon emissions, which account for 17% of global carbon emissions.
The plant, which will follow the construction of an electric vehicle plant in China, is slated to open in 2023, with an annual production of 200,000 to 300,000 units per year, according to Nikkei.
Nidec, also known for its miniature electric motors for smartphones and other electronic devices, acquired automotive electronics manufacturer Honda Elesys in 2014 and automotive electronics division Omron Corp in 2019.
It faces competition from other companies like Japan's Denso Corp and Aisin Seiki Corp, which formed a joint venture called BluE Nexus in 2019 last year.
