Modelling an electric vehicle motor to assess the efficiency of replacing rare earth magnets with ferrite magnets

The paper analyzes the feasibility of using ferrite magnets in electric vehicle motors as a cost-effective alternative to expensive neodymium magnets. The main objective of the research is to determine the optimal rotor configuration for a motor with ferrite magnets and to evaluate its efficiency relative to the standard configuration with neodymium magnets. Modeling was conducted using COMSOL Multiphysics, considering four rotor designs: one with neodymium and three with ferrite magnets, differing in the shape and location of the magnets. The results indicate that optimized ferrite configurations can achieve up to 81 % of the torque produced by neodymium-based motors, making them suitable for electric vehicles with moderate loads. Thus, the use of ferrite magnets reduces production costs, decreases dependency on imported rare-earth materials, and creates favorable conditions for the development of more affordable electric vehicles, particularly for public and commercial urban transport.