YASA breaks ground at Bicester Motion site

Groundbreaking has taken place to mark the start of construction at YASA’s new UK headquarters at Bicester Motion.

Leading figures from the 444-acre venue and YASA joined Oxfordshire County Council, Cherwell District Council, the Mayor of Bicester Town Council, Advanced Oxford, Oxford to Cambridge Pan-Regional Partnership and members of the consultancy team to celebrate the start of work on the 90,000 sq ft scheme.

At the same time Bicester Motion unveiled the new name of its Innovation Quarter which will now be called The Ranges due to its location being the former airfield’s rifle ranges.

YASA, a spin-out from the University of Oxford, owned by the Mercedes-Benz Group, is pioneering new electric motoring technology. Practical completion of its new HQ is expected in Summer 2025. Many of the more than 400 people, currently at YASA sites across Oxfordshire, will move to the new campus once it is fitted out, which is expected to be during January 2026.

Daniel Geoghegan, chief executive of Bicester Motion, said: “This is another significant milestone for Bicester Motion, not only in officially welcoming pioneering YASA and their staff ahead of joining our unique and thriving community, but also our continued investment into enabling vital future mobility innovation.

“The project’s new name of The Ranges is homage to its history as the location for the RAF rifle ranges of old. We are immensely proud that YASA will join our world-leading location, already the preferred home of the likes of clean and carbon neutral fuel developers, electric flight pioneers and technology companies.

“I would like to thank our team and consultants for all their hard work in reaching this point. We look forward to boosting construction jobs and the wider local supply chain in delivering this important project.”

Dr Tim Woolmer, founder and chief technology officer for YASA, said: “Today marks an important day for YASA as we start the construction of our new UK headquarters at Bicester Motion.

“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. It has been a privilege to be on that journey as we have expanded.

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

“When we discovered this place, we found this instant connection with the spirit, the vibe of the place, our shared missions and a wonderful space to grow and collaborate with other companies and people working in the space of electrification and transportation.

“YASA’s home has always been in Oxfordshire, the heartland of automotive technology in the UK, and our new facility will complement our existing manufacturing facility just down the road in Yarnton and we look forward to seeing our building progress.”

Adalta Real represented Bicester Motion. Adalta Real and Bidwells are the commercial leasing agents.

The team which acts for Bicester Motion includes 3DReid, Edgars, IKS Consulting, Stantec, Macgregor Smith, Nicholsons and Motion Consultants.