Electric Motors for Electric Vehicles 2025-2035: Technologies, Materials, Markets, and Forecasts

Electric motors truly are the driving force behind electric vehicles (EVs). In addition to the batteries and power electronics, the electric motor is a critical component within the drivetrain. Despite electric traction motors originally being developed in the 1800s, the market is still evolving today with new designs, improving power and torque density and more considerations around the materials used. These aren't just incremental improvements either, with developments such as axial flux motors and various OEMs eliminating rare-earths altogether.

 

The latest report from IDTechEx on Electric Vehicle Motors 2025-2035 details OEM strategies, trends, and emerging technologies within the motor market for EVs. An extensive model database of over 500 EV model variants sold between 2015-2023 in several geographic regions aids in a granular market analysis of motor type, performance, thermal management, and market shares. Technologies and strategies of major OEMs are considered for cars, two-wheelers, three-wheelers, microcars, light commercial vehicles (vans), trucks, and buses along with several use-cases and benchmarking of several motor units. Emerging technologies are also addressed with market forecasts through to 2035 such as axial flux and in-wheel motors. Motor requirements and use cases are detailed for eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) and eCTOL (electric conventional take-off and landing) aircraft as a much earlier stage market, with demanding performance characteristics.

 

 

A key consideration for the EV motor market is that of magnetic materials. From 2015-2023 the share of permanent magnet (PM) motors in the electric car market remained consistently above 75%. Rare-earth magnets continue to be a concern in 2024 due to their supply chain being constrained to China and the historic price volatility. To avoid these concerns, several European OEMs have opted for magnet free designs including Renault and BMWs adoption of wound rotor motors and Audi's use of induction motors. In 2023, Tesla announced its next generation motor would be a PM machine without rare-earths, further bringing the focus to alternative magnetic materials such as ferrite magnets and the challenges they pose to mass adoption. Magnet prices settled in 2023 after a peak in 2021/2022 pushing rare earth free designs somewhat away from the fore, but the continued volatility and the wish to secure supply chains keep them as a focus point.

 

In this report, IDTechEx provides an analysis of magnet free motor designs, routes to rare-earth reduction, and options for alternative magnetic materials. IDTechEx predicts that PM motors will remain the dominant form of motor (especially with China's dominance in the EV market), but there will be further reductions in rare-earths per motor and alternative magnetic materials making greater progress in the market.

 

 

In addition to the traditional on-board radial flux motors in EVs, there are two emerging alternatives that have gained a lot of interest but are at early stages of market adoption, namely axial flux and in-wheel motors.

 

In axial flux motors the magnetic flux is parallel to the axis of rotation (compared to perpendicular in radial flux machines). The benefits of axial flux motors include increased power and torque density and a pancake form factor ideal for integration in various scenarios. Despite the previous lack of adoption, the technology has evolved to market integration. Daimler acquired key players YASA to use its motors in the upcoming AMG electric platform and Renault has partnered with WHYLOT to use axial flux motors in its hybrids starting in 2025.

 

In-wheel motors made it into some on-road vehicles such as a limited quantity of Lordstown trucks. However, most automotive projects stated to use in-wheel motors so far have run into financial troubles. However key progress was made by Protean where Dongfeng demonstrated the first homologated passenger car with ProteanDrive (in-wheel motor platform) in 2023, and is following this with fleet testing.

 

IDTechEx expects a large increase in demand for axial flux and in-wheel motors for certain vehicle categories, but does not predict they will displace the traditional on-board radial flux machines in the near future. This report carries out performance and market analysis of emerging motor technologies with players, adoption, and 10 year market forecasts.

 

Analysis of the electric motor markets in BEVs, PHEVs and HEVs across cars, two-wheelers, three-wheelers, microcars, light commercial vehicles (vans), trucks, buses, eVTOL, and eCTOL including:

 

10 Year Market Forecasts & Analysis:

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