Toyota Motor Corp, Asia’s No.1 carmaker, has found a way to make electric vehicles (EVs) more affordable and less vulnerable to shortages in supply of the key elements needed to produce the rechargeable batteries that power them. The key for such new wave of EVs is a magnet for electric motors developed by the Japanese firm, which halves the use of a rare earth called neodymium and eliminates the use of others called terbium and dysprosium, the company revealed on Tuesday. In their place, Toyota will use the more abundant rare earths lanthanum and cerium, which also cost about 20 times less than neodymium. The automaker, which plans to ask suppliers to make such magnets, said it aims to use them in its EVs within the next 10 years.