The authors analyze the advantages and disadvantages of brushless synchronous electric machines with radially and non-radially mounted rectangular permanent magnets. The results show that the proposed non-radial mounting of permanent magnets considered in the paper, in several cases (e.g. multi-pole brushless generators with tooth windings of the armature) allows achievement of the following advantages: better technology of manufacturing the electric machine owing to simple packing of the stator winding in the stator open slots, which also increases the copper slot fill-factor; reduction in the mass-and-size of permanent magnets at least twice; significantly lower cost of the electric machine; and, finally, its greater specific power.