Abstract: Non-oriented electrical steel is the core magnetic material for stator and rotor laminations in traction motors for new energy vehicles. Its magnetic, mechanical, processing and coating properties jointly determine motor power density, efficiency, thermal behavior and high-speed service reliability. This paper focused on the coupled route of high-frequency low loss, high magnetic induction, high strength and ultra-thin gauge manufacturing. The origins and control strategies of high-frequency iron loss were discussed from the perspectives of grain size, texture, precipitates, residual stress and thickness effect. Strengthening strategies, including solid-solution strengthening, precipitation strengthening, grain refinement and dislocation strengthening, were compared with emphasis on their influence on magnetic properties. Frontier topics such as ultra-thin strip rolling, punching and stacking, self-bonding coatings and multi-field service evaluation were further summarized. The analysis indicates that the key issue for traction-motor-grade non-oriented electrical steel is no longer the improvement of a single property, but the establishment of a coordinated relationship among composition, process, microstructure, coating and service evaluation under specific motor operating conditions. Future research should focus on physical modeling of high-frequency iron loss, magneto-mechanical co-design, stable manufacturing of ultra-thin gauges, self-bonded core technology and multi-field coupled evaluation systems.

Key words: new energy vehicles; drive motor; non-oriented silicon steel; magnetic properties; process optimization; property regulation