MP Materials, of Fort Worth Texas will supply rare earth metals and magnets for electric motors
Another deal with a German company to build Magnets in the US is on the table
These two deals could supply GM with all the magnets it will need for a few years
General Motors has struck a deal with MP Materials, a company based in Fort Worth, Texas, to supply it with rare earth metals and magnets to use in electric motors for its electric vehicles.
This partnership will secure the automaker a more direct access to crucial elements needed to produce electric vehicles, the importance of which has become very apparent since the pandemic, with automakers scrambling to find the parts they need to build enough cars to meet the demand.
Having a partnership with a supplier will allow General Motors to count on a reliable supply of components, no matter how the rest of the industry is doing.
In addition to this partnership, the automaker is currently working on a similar deal with Vacuumschmelze of Germany in order to open a new factory in the United States that will also supply the company with magnets for electric motors.
The demand for electric vehicles in the US is expected to reach 400,000 at the end of this year, which is almost double the number of units sold last year. In addition, sales are expected to reach 730,000 next year and 2 million by 2025.
These partnerships will help GM face this increase in EV sales with MP Materials having a production capacity capable of supplying 500,000 electric motors per year and Vacuumschmelze having an unspecified additional capacity. Both of these outputs combined will be enough to meet GM’s demands for a few years at least.
