In the production of a non-oriented
electrical steel sheet by hot rolling a steel plate containing Si: 2.8 to 6.5% by
mass and Zn: 0.0005 to 0.0050% by
mass, followed by cold rolling and finish annealing, a
coating agent containing at least one element selected from Sn, Sb, P, S, Se, As, Te, B, Pb and Bi is applied to the surface of the steel sheet after the finish annealing, to form an insulating
coating with
nitriding suppression capability.Alternatively, an intermediate layer containing at least one element selected from Sn, Sb, P, S, Se, As, Te, B, Pb, and Bi and having
nitriding suppression capability is formed on the iron matrix of the steel sheet after finish annealing, and an insulating
coating not containing the above elements is formed on the intermediate layer to thus obtain an electrically non-oriented steel sheet from which a rotor core with high strength and a
stator core with excellent magnetic properties can be obtained simultaneously after stress-relief annealing, and a motor core comprising a
stator core and a rotor core is produced from the steel sheet.