 "Issue of restricted rare earth magnets' supply sorted for now: Ather Energy")
Electric two-wheeler manufacturer Ather Energy’s CEO Tarun Mehta said the automobile industry needs to move away from heavy rare earths to at least light rare earths.
Rare earth metals and magnets are essential materials used in electronics and electric vehicles.
Mehta, while unveiling the new electric scooter platform EL at the Ather Community Day in Bengaluru, said the platform would cater to multiple e-scooter segments. He stated that the company now commands a 17 per cent share of the domestic electric two-wheeler market.
The CEO plans to double this share in the April–June quarter of the previous year. “Twenty per cent market share is something I think is possible for our business in the near term,” Mehta told news agency PTI.
On the EL platform, the CEO said that the company has reduced the number of parts in e-scooters to 15, which makes assembly 15 per cent quicker and lowers production costs at the assembly stage by 15 per cent.
Mehta said the automobile industry must diversify by engaging more countries and suppliers to mitigate risks such as the recent shortage of rare earth elements and magnets that affected original equipment manufacturers.
“I think it [the issue of restricted supply of rare earth magnets] is sorted out for now. But I think the better answer now is to move away from heavy rare earths to at least light rare earths, which is what we are trying to do at Ather,” Mehta said.
He also said that given the current global volatility, there is a need for stronger solutions, stressing the importance of diversifying across both countries and suppliers as part of greater hedging efforts.
“This old model of one supplier, one country is too dangerous these days. You can’t count on that. So we are working on supply chains and technology directions which give us more options rather than locking us down into one geo or one supplier,” Mehta said.
In April 2025, China imposed export curbs on several key rare earth elements, including neodymium, dysprosium, terbium, samarium, gadolinium, praseodymium, and cerium, as well as rare earth magnets. These restrictions required exporters to secure special licences, often involving end-user certificates and government-to-government approvals, significantly complicating and slowing down shipments.
These curbs led to a sharp drop in exports. For example, rare earth magnet exports — a key component in electric vehicles — plunged 74 per cent in May 2025 compared to a year earlier.