Electric Revolution: Resilience – A Critical Chokepoint for Humanoid Robots and EVs: Asia Emerging Robotics

Research evidence excerpt

Electric Revolution: Resilience – A Critical Chokepoint for Humanoid Robots and EVs: Asia Emerging Robotics

4 August 2026

Asia Emerging Robotics

Electric Revolution: Resilience – A Critical Chokepoint for

Humanoid Robots and EVs

Welcome to the 2026 edition of Bernstein’s Electric Revolution series - our annual cross- Dien Wang, Ph.D.

+852 2123 2622 sector look at the transformation of the EV landscape. This year, we focus on supply chain

dien.wang@bernsteinsg.com resilience, a theme rising in importance as EV adoption diverges by region and geopolitical

risks intensify. OEMs and suppliers face growing pressure to anticipate, navigate, and

Eunice Lee, CFA recover quickly from disruptions across sourcing, production, and logistics, etc. In this note,

+852 2123 2606

eunice.lee@bernsteinsg.com we would like to focus on the critical supply chain chokepoint for humanoid robots and EVs.

Decoupling in robotics. The latest U.S. ban (link) on new foreign-made mobile robots (incl. Jay Huang, Ph.D.

+852 2123 2631 humanoids and quadrupeds) marks a milestone in the decoupling of emerging robotics and

jay.huang@bernsteinsg.com could further extend to the broader Physical AI (e.g. intelligent vehicles, fixed robots). As

Physical AI emerges as a strategic battleground among leading nations, control of critical

Weibin Liang, Ph.D. chokepoints could ultimately determine who gains the upper hand. +852 2123 2666

weibin.liang@bernsteinsg.com

Rare-earth magnets are critical to humanoid robots and EVs. Rare-earth magnets

remain indispensable for high-performance motors (Exhibit 1, Exhibit 2), enabling high

torque density, compact size, lightweight design, and thermal resistance. A humanoid

robot can consume more than twice as much magnetic material as an EV motor (Exhibit 3),