Rare-Earth Magnets (REPM)

Motor makers buy finished sintered magnets, insert them into slots in the rotor (the spinning part) and assemble the motor and its controller for vehicle makers. A car traction motor typically carries one to two kilograms of magnet (industry estimates).

Permanent-magnet motors are smaller and more efficient than magnet-free designs, so almost every EV maker uses them. That makes motor makers the first to feel a magnet shortage - and the first to gain from a reliable Indian supplier.

Magnets are a small share of a motor's cost but a hard bottleneck: without them, the motor (and the vehicle) cannot ship. The scheme does not pay motor makers anything; their gain is lower supply risk and, over time, negotiating power against Chinese suppliers.

• EV adoption in cars, buses, three-wheelers and commercial vehicles
• Second-source qualification of Indian magnets once scheme plants start (from about 2028)
• Motor designs that cut or remove heavy rare earths

• Nearly all NdFeB magnets used in Indian motors are imported, mainly from China
• Chinese export licences need end-use certificates and take weeks per shipment
• Magnet grades for traction motors need heavy rare earths (dysprosium, terbium) that India does not refine at scale

• Share of motors on magnet-light or magnet-free designs
• Months of magnet inventory held
• Domestic vs imported magnet mix disclosed in calls