Re-driven Thinking

The EV industry is finally repurposing old motors for continued use

The electric motors used in automobiles are distinctive from their industrial counterparts, leading to a limited relationship between the disciplines, especially where repair and reuse is concerned.

That gap is finally being bridged a bit with a recent push over the past six months to emphasize the EV aftermarket.

SEG and Fersa's "redrive" brand, used for remanufacturing of EV motors, is gaining ground, the companies say.--Redrive photo

At the 2024 Automechanika show in Frankfurt, Germany, the companies SEG Automotive and Fersa unveiled a collaboration in the field of the remanufacturing of high-voltage electric drive units. SEG Automotive brought its remanufacturing expertise, while Fersa contributed its technical know-how and advanced bearing solutions. Creating a new brand known as "redrive" (Editor's note: it's still a struggle to identify brands that are all lower case), the partnership has initially focused on the remanufacturing of high-voltage electric motors for the Tesla Model S, Model X, and the Renault ZOE in its first six months, with plans to expand to additional models in the near future.

Now, the redrive endeavor has provided an update via YouTube: The companies say their rebuilt drive units are 30% cheaper than the originals. A three-minute video below provides more details, using a job at Nik's Garage in Nuremburg, Germany to demonstrate the process:

Co-engineered by Fersa, SEG Automotive re-manufactures high voltage drive units on an industrial scale. These products can be replaced directly in the workshop without any waiting time. "Following the simple process REceive – REplace – REturn, the workshop receives the remanufactured drive unit, replaces it with the defective one and sends it back to SEG Automotive," redrive said on YouTube.

Both partners are "striving to be pioneers in this business and the No. 1 in quality and speed on the market," per their initial statement. "Moreover, this collaboration is driven by a shared commitment to sustainability, with the remanufacturing of electric drive units contributing to a circular economy and a cleaner future."