Work starts on Oxfordshire electric motors factory

A ground-breaking ceremony has heralded the start of construction work on YASA’s new UK headquarters (HQ) at Bicester Motion, the 444-acre future mobility estate on outskirts of the Oxfordshire town.

YASA, a spin-out from the University of Oxford and wholly owned by the Mercedes-Benz Group, is pioneering new electric drive technology and has agreed a 15-year lease to pre-let the 8,220m² facility.

The company employs more than 400 people across several sites in Oxfordshire, which includes teams in innovation, engineering, prototyping, operations, and business support functions. Many of these teams will relocate to Bicester Motion in January 2026.

The new HQ will be the first phase of Bicester Motion’s new Innovation Quarter, which is a £60M investment to boost pioneering future mobility discovery and will deliver a total of seven prestigious HQ buildings.

The carbon-efficient buildings will target BREEAM ‘Excellent’ certification and EPC ‘A’ rating. They will be prepared for solar PV technology creation and include dedicated ecology and biodiversity areas, green space amenities for staff health and wellbeing, and bicycle parking spaces.

The ground-breaking was attended by representatives from Bicester Motion, Oxfordshire County Council and Cherwell District Council, as well as members of the YASA team including Dr Tim Woolmer the company’s Founder and Chief Technology Officer.

Dr Woolmer said: “Today marks an important day for YASA as we start the construction of our new UK HQ. We have been on an amazing journey and from when we spun out of an Oxford University PhD in 2009, our vision has always been to accelerate electrification.

“We have never had a facility like this before and it is an enormous privilege to find a long-term home.”