RE:Top 20 Biggest Car Manufacturers by 2023 Revenue"Leamington Spa-based electrified powertrain engineering consultancy Drive System Design (DSD) thinks a better alternative is the induction motor (which is already used by the Tesla Model S)."... "DSD has found that although the peak efficiency of permanent-magnet motors is higher, induction motors maintain higher efficiency through a wider part of the operating range, especially at higher revs. If the driveline is designed so that the motor is allowed to operate in its optimum range for more of the time (using a multi-speed transmission, for example), the induction motor comes into its own.
The bottom line is that despite the permanent-magnet motor’s apparent advantage, it can consume more energy than an induction motor over an entire drive cycle. DSD puts the price of an induction motor of similar performance at about 8-10% cheaper with today’s prices for rare-earth materials, but that could change for the worse in the future."
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/technology-news/under-skin-does-induction-beat-magnets-motors