To increase reluctance torque and to obtain higher torque and higher efficiency of a motor in a permanent magnet electric motor.

In a permanent magnet electric motor having a rotor core 10 inside a stator core 1 which generates rotating magnetic field, magnets 11 of a quonset shape in cross section are embedded into the rotor core 10 in the proximity of a d-axis along the outside circumference of the rotor core 10 at an equal interval for the corresponding number of poles, in such a manner that a given magnetic path width from one q-axis to the other q-axis is secured for the magnetic path from the stator core 1, and grain-oriented magnetic steel sheets 12 of a given thickness are embedded at a fixed interval in such a way as to surround the center hole side of these magnets 11. The neighboring magnets 11 generate magnet torque by reversing its magnetizing direction. The steel sheets 12 increase the q-axis inductance by letting the magnetic flux from the stator core 1 pass easily, thereby enlarging the difference of inductance between d- and q-axis so that a reluctance torque is increased.