TOKYO — A Japanese company that got rich making motors and actuators for everything from refrigerators to disk drives is now banking on huge growth in electric vehicles.
Nidec Corp. has unveiled a midterm plan that leans heavily on motors for cars and expects automotive to become one of the company's biggest units in just five years.
The surge will come not only from traction motors used to propel electrified vehicles but also from the plethora of smaller electric actuators used to operate vehicle pumps, sunroofs, seats, windows, steering, brakes and automated onboard features.