In an interview with AutoEV Times, Bhaktha Keshavachar, CEO & Co-founder, Chara Technologies, speaks about why electric motors—not batteries—may determine India’s EV leadership. He explains how rare-earth dependence exposes supply chains, why magnet-free motor innovation is commercially viable, and how indigenous motor development can reduce costs, improve efficiency, and strengthen India’s long-term industrial and energy resilience.
Read the full interview here:
AET: Batteries and charging infrastructure dominate India’s EV conversations, while motors often stay in the background. Why do you believe electric motors are the real “missing link” in India’s EV innovation story?
Bhaktha: India’s EV conversations have long been dominated by batteries. Those are important. But the motor is the core energy-conversion system of an electric vehicle. Yet, it has sat almost invisible in the broader sustainability dialogue around industry conversations.
A truly sustainable EV ecosystem must include the entire lifecycle consideration of the battery, motor, and drivetrain. When the narrative focuses only on battery, one of the most powerful efficiency levers is overlooked. A high-efficiency motor can deliver the same performance with a smaller battery pack. That means lower mineral intensity, lower embedded carbon, and better affordability, especially in cost-sensitive two- and three-wheeler segments.
Motor innovation is not incremental engineering. It is materials science, software-defined control, and advanced manufacturing coming together. These are areas where India can build deep capability. If we want to move from EV adoption to EV leadership, motors cannot remain background hardware. They must move to the centre of the innovation agenda
AET: India remains heavily dependent on imported motor technologies and critical materials, including rare earths. What long-term risks does this dependency pose for EV affordability, scalability, and supply chain resilience?
Bhaktha: India’s dependence on imported rare-earth magnets and motor technologies creates structural exposure. Rare-earth supply chains are geographically concentrated, and pricing is vulnerable to geopolitical shifts. That volatility directly affects OEM cost structures and vehicle affordability.
The environmental cost is equally significant. Producing one ton of rare earth typically generates nearly 2,000 tons of toxic waste. The material intensity of the current magnet ecosystem is not insignificant, and it carries long-term environmental implications.
Magnets can account for a substantial share of motor cost. In permanent-magnet motors, magnets alone can account for around 40% of total motor cost. When rare-earth prices spike, vehicle economics become unpredictable. In mass-market mobility, where margins are already tight, that unpredictability slows adoption.
India’s move to develop rare-earth corridors is timely and necessary. Mining secures strategic access to critical materials. At the same time, rare-earth-free motor technologies reduce overdependence on those materials in applications where substitution is technically viable. These are complementary strategies, not competing ones.
A resilient EV ecosystem must balance strategic mining with innovation-led substitution. Over time, reducing exposure to concentrated supply chains will strengthen energy security, industrial competitiveness, and long-term cost stability.
AET: With geopolitical uncertainties and fragile global supply chains, how urgent is the shift toward indigenous motor innovation, and what strategic advantages does local development offer India today?
Bhaktha: The urgency is real, and it is immediate. Global supply chains are under strain, and access to critical minerals is increasingly shaped by geopolitics. As EV demand accelerates, competition for rare-earth materials will intensify. Delaying recognition to rare-earth free EV motors, risks locking India into long-term dependency in the EV sector.
Indigenous magnet free motor innovation changes that equation. It reduces exposure to imported magnets and foreign intellectual property. It improves cost predictability. And it builds domestic manufacturing depth across materials, components, and system integration.
Local development also enables design tailored to Indian realities, high ambient temperatures, dense urban usage, and cost-sensitive mobility segments. That contextual engineering cannot be replicated through imported, one-size-fits-all solutions.
Motor capability extends beyond EVs. It strengthens industrial automation, railways, renewables, and advanced manufacturing. This is not just about replacing imports. It is about building foundational deep-tech strength that anchors long-term industrial resilience.
AET: Rare-earth-free motors are often seen as technically challenging. From an engineering and manufacturing standpoint, what breakthroughs are making these motors viable for mass-market two-wheelers and three-wheelers?
Bhaktha: Rare-earth-free motors are no longer academic experiments but are in commercial deployment. Advances in rotor geometry optimisation, high-grade electrical steels, precision lamination design, and software-driven control have significantly closed the performance gap with permanent-magnet machines.
A rare-earth free synchronous reluctance motor can be 10–15% more cost-efficient while providing on-par performance with a Permanent magnet motor, all while being easier to scale locally. Modern synchronous reluctance and magnet-free architectures use saliency and electromagnetic design instead of magnetic attraction from rare-earth materials. With improved simulation tools, tighter manufacturing tolerances, and advanced motor-control electronics, these systems now deliver competitive torque density and efficiency across real-world duty cycles.
Manufacturing simplicity is a major advantage. Eliminating magnet handling reduces assembly complexity and production variability. Combined with advances in power electronics and field-oriented control, this enables smooth torque delivery suited to urban mobility.
AET: How can advances in indigenous motor design—across efficiency, performance optimization, and manufacturability—translate into tangible benefits such as lower costs, improved reliability, and better lifecycle outcomes for EVs?
Bhaktha: Indigenous motor innovation delivers measurable outcomes. Higher drivetrain efficiency improves energy utilisation. That either extends real-world range or reduces required battery capacity. Both outcomes directly reduce cost and material intensity.
Improved thermal performance enhances durability and reduces maintenance variability, critical for fleet operators and commercial three-wheeler owners. Performance consistency across load and temperature conditions improves reliability in real-world Indian operating environments.
From a manufacturing standpoint, locally designed systems can be optimised around available materials and domestic supply chains. That reduces import dependence and improves cost stability. Eliminating rare-earth magnets removes exposure to volatile commodity cycles.
Over a vehicle’s lifecycle, these factors translate into lower total cost of ownership, predictable servicing, and improved sustainability metrics. When engineering innovation aligns with local manufacturing and supply-chain resilience, indigenous motor development becomes a structural advantage.
AET: Looking ahead, what needs to come together—across policy, industry collaboration, and deep-tech innovation—for India to build a resilient domestic motor ecosystem and position itself as a global leader in next-generation electric motor technologies?
Bhaktha: Building a resilient rare-earth free EV motor ecosystem requires coordinated action across policy, industry, and deep-tech innovation. Policy support must extend beyond batteries to include motor R&D, advanced materials, and localized component ecosystems.
Industry collaboration is equally critical. OEMs, motor developers, power electronics suppliers, and academia must accelerate co-development and validation. Early alignment reduces integration risk and shortens commercialization cycles.
Investment in electromagnetic design, advanced simulation, precision manufacturing, and embedded software will define global competitiveness. Strengthening talent pipelines in motor engineering and power electronics is essential if we have to build world-class motor ecosystem from India.
