Toyota is developing an new type of electric motor to reduce its use of rare minerals and reduce production costs.
According to media reports in the US, the Japanese car maker is seeking to reduce its dependency of scarce resources of minerals such as neodymium and dysprosium, of which China controls over 90 per cent of the market.
Engineers at the firm are seeking to develop an induction motor that’s lighter and more efficient than the magnet-type motor currently used in the Prius hybrid. The new technology could help make the car maker’s hybrid and future electric car models greener and cleaner and maybe even improve performance statistics.
Toyota is currently collaborating with Silicon Valley start-up Tesla to produce an electric sport-utility vehicle for the luxury car market.
Many electric and hybrid models are dependant on rare earth minerals and the development of an alternative could represent a major step forward in encouraging the uptake of such vehicles.
Cars including Chevrolet’s range-extended Volt model and Nissan’s all-electric Leaf are also dependent on rare minerals.
