Sona Comstar Plans to Make EV Magnets Locally

SONA COMSTAR, the country's biggest importer of rare earth magnets, plans to locally manufacture the critical components used in electric vehicles, tapping into a government push to incentivize their production at home as China restricts their exports.

- Aditi Shah

China, which produces around 90% of the world's rare earth magnets, put restrictions in April on their exports as part of its response to US tariffs. While the US and China signed a deal this month to speed up approvals of rare earth exports, governments and companies globally are scrambling to look for alternatives.

India, which has the world's third-largest car market and its fifth-largest reserves of rare earths, is working on a new programme to incentivize magnet production locally to wean off China.

Gurugram-based Sona Comstar, officially known as Sona BLW Precision Forgings, is the first company in the country to announce plans to make magnets domestically after the government's program became public.