A PMDC motor has a housing, a stator magnet disposed in an interior of the housing, and a rotor core disposed within the stator magnet. A ratio of an outer diameter of the rotor core to the outer diameter of the housing is from 0.60 to 0.67. The noise of the motor during operation is reduced by increasing the thickness of the stator magnet, reducing the outer diameter of the rotor core, reducing the air gap between the magnet and the rotor core and reducing the rotational inertia of the rotor core. The motor is particularly suited for use in vehicle HVAC systems where low noise is an important requirement.