The sintered rare-earth magnets contained in interior permanent magnet synchronous motors (IPMSMs) for automotive applications have disadvantages in terms of their high cost and the instability of their raw materials, in particular dysprosium (Dy). To overcome these shortcomings, this study proposes and investigates the permanent magnet-assisted synchronous reluctance motor (PMASynRM) with Dy-free bonded rare-earth magnets. To apply Dy-free bonded rare-earth magnets to traction motors, which are driven with high current, their irreversible demagnetization properties must be characterized in detail. This paper describes the method used to characterize the irreversible demagnetization of the bonded magnets, and investigates the influence of irreversible demagnetization on the driving performance of the PMASynRM with bonded magnets on the basis of a two-dimensional finite element analysis.