[jabl]

Sure, we all know the big bottleneck for EV's is the batteries. But there's a lot of individually tiny things that can be improved to make that battery last longer. Like high-strength steels, aluminum or even composite construction to save weight, aerodynamic improvements, low rolling resistance tires, and yes, light-weight high-efficiency motors like this article talks about.

Could we make do with ye olde three-phase induction motor? Sure, that is an extremely good design, simple and yet pretty high efficiency and with a century-long track record. But if we can make something lighter-weight and with even better efficiency, why shouldn't we do it?