[ianburrell]

Lithium ion batteries don’t usually have rare earth minerals. Some use rare minerals like cobalt but they are moving away from those chemistries.

It is the electric motors that use rare earths but sounds like companies are moving away from that.

[Panzer04]

Not all that relevant from a maintenance perspective though. Electric motors essentially Don't Fail.

[rurban]

High-performance electric motors do fail all the time. They overheat, position sensors are slipping, the converters IGBT's last max 6 years.

You are talking simple engines, I'm talking high-end engines.

[Panzer04]

In the context of the motor alone, those don't fail.

The circuits driving it probably have a higher failure rate, but we've gotten so good at manufacturing electrical circuits it still seems much easier and cheaper than a mechanical engine.

[rurban]

I worked with high performance electrical engines. They do fail all the time. Not in cheap consumer cars though.