Germany-based Mahle has successfully launched production of its new X20 traction motor for e-bikes at its manufacturing plant in Šempeter pri Gorici, Slovenia. Around 20 people are currently producing the new drive on the assembly line commissioned earlier this year and first deliveries to customers have already been made.

The X20 will secure sales growth in the mid double-digit million range for the site in the coming years. With a system weight of less than 3.2kg, including battery and control unit, the X20 is the lightest e-bike drive available on the market. The new product was developed by Mahle Smartbike Systems in Palencia, Spain.

Dr Armin Messerer, Mahle vice president mechatronics, who is responsible for the E-Bike Drive Systems division, said: “We are delighted that the industrialisation of the X20 has gone so smoothly and that we have already been able to deliver the first e-bike motors to our customers. With our X20 drive system, which can be installed virtually invisibly in the frame and hub, we are offering our customers a top-class product that sets a new benchmark in terms of power-to-weight ratio.”

Mahle’s ultralight X20 drive system is perfectly tailored to the design of gravel bikes, road bikes and urban e-bikes. The hub motor delivers 23 Newton meters directly to the wheel—a power output comparable with that of a mid-drive motor with 55 Newton meters of torque. Equipped with a sophisticated sensor package that measures acceleration, speed, torque, temperature and pedaling rate, the X20 also uses artificial intelligence to continuously adapt the drive to the person in the saddle.

As such, the X20 offers a perfectly customised cycling experience plus an absolutely natural pedal feel which is similar to that of a conventional high-performance sports bike. The new Mahle drive thus delivers the noise-free support that e-bike riders need.

The e-bike market is growing continuously, thus opening up new sales opportunities for Mahle, both for the X20 motor as well as for next-generation e-bike drives. The Estonian factory is part of Mahle's electronics and mechatronics business unit which secured 15% growth in sales in 2021. The customer portfolio of the business unit of the Stuttgart technology group now includes around 300 manufacturers.

Šempeter pri Gorici is one of the central development and production hubs for electric drive systems, and as a result plays a key role in Mahle’s transformation into one of the leading suppliers of components for e-mobility. Electric drives manufactured in Slovenia are used in hybrid and electric variants of logistics vehicles, two-wheelers and passenger cars.