The race to reduce rare earth materials in electric vehicle (EV) motors is heating up, with a growing number of automakers and suppliers making significant strides in this area.
Leading the charge is Tesla, which initially used induction motors without rare earth permanent magnets before switching to a permanent magnet motor for its mass-market Model 3 in 2017. The company has since announced plans to go completely rare earth free in its next-generation EV models.
BMW, on the other hand, already uses no rare earth permanent magnets and has developed a magnet-free externally excited synchronous machine (EESM) for its upcoming EVs. General Motors is also exploring options to limit or eliminate rare earth materials in its EV motors, while BorgWarner has already reduced heavy rare earth content in its EV motors and is working on a rare earth free version.
Luxury automaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is considering using two motors in its next-generation EVs – one with rare earths and one without – to reduce the overall rare earth content per vehicle. Other players in the industry, including ZF, Vitesco, Renault, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Bentley, and Marelli, are all working on developing EV motors with either limited or no rare earth materials.
With efforts like these, automakers and suppliers are not only looking to reduce their reliance on rare earth minerals, which are predominantly sourced from China, but also pushing the boundaries of innovation in the EV space. Stay tuned as the race to create eco-friendly and sustainable electric vehicles continues to unfold.
