China imposed rare-earth export restrictions in early April, shortly after reciprocal tariff announcements, and no shipments reached India thereafter. Bajaj Auto's Chetak production fell from 20,384 units to 10,824 units in July because of rare-earth shortages. The shortage affected the wider automobile sector and alarmed dealers dependent on steady production. Bajaj redesigned certain motors to use light rare-earth magnets and reworked supply chains, recovering roughly half of planned July output and targeting about 60 percent of normal output in August and September. Rare-earth metals include 17 elements such as dysprosium, terbium, europium, samarium, and gadolinium.
China introduced restrictions on its rare earth exports in April, two days after Trump announced retaliatory tariffs. In July, India's best-selling electric scooter, Bajaj Auto's Chetak, hit a big speed bump. A shortage of rare-earth metals had hit production plans, and the company was forced to almost halve its output. Bajaj manufactured just 10,824 units of the Chetak in July, as compared with 20,384 units during the same period last year, due to rare earth shortages.
The rare-earth magnet supply situation has been a constraint that created the risk of a sharper production dip in July, Rakesh Sharma, executive director of Bajaj Auto, told Al Jazeera. The company has since quickly redesigned certain motors to use light rare-earth magnets and has been reworking supply chains so it can cater to its needs, Sharma said. These changes helped us recover close to half of our planned July output for electric two-wheelers.
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