Against the backdrop of China’s continued tightening of key mineral export controls to Japan, Japan’s automotive industry is accelerating its efforts to reduce dependence on Chinese rare earth resources by promoting the development and application of “low-rare earth” and even “rare earth-free” technologies.
According to Kyodo News, Japanese parts giant Astemo launched a new all-electric vehicle motor last October using its own proprietary technology. The motor uses iron as its main material, replacing the rare earth element neodymium needed to make high-performance magnets, and achieves output performance on par with traditional motors through special structural design.
The report says Astemo plans to combine two types of motors based on the needs of different models, aiming for deployment around 2030.
In addition, Japanese motor manufacturer Mitsuba Corporation has developed a motor that also uses iron as its main component, and has been mass-producing products for automotive wiper systems since 2023, currently being used in Honda 'Accord' and other models.
Nissan’s new generation of electric vehicle “Leaf” released this year has reduced use of heavy rare earths by about 90% compared to the first generation. Honda, as early as 2016, jointly developed a motor with Daido Steel that uses magnets without heavy rare earths, first equipped in their multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) “FREED,” and has stated plans to move toward the complete elimination of rare earth use in the future.