Multi-Criteria Analysis of Electric Vehicle Motor Technologies: A Review

The electric vehicle market is constantly evolving, with the research and development efforts to improve motor technologies and address the current challenges to meet the growing demand for sustainable transportation solutions well underway. Electric vehicles are crucial to the global initiative to reduce carbon emissions. The core component of an electric vehicle is its motor drive technology, which has undergone significant advancements and diversification in recent years. Although alternating-current motors, particularly induction and synchronous motors, are widely used for their efficiency and low maintenance, direct-current motors provide high torque and cost-effectiveness advantages. This study examines various electric motor technologies used in electric vehicles and compares them using several parameters, such as reliability, cost, and efficiency. This study presents a multi-criteria comparison of the various electric motors used in the electric traction system to provide a picture that enables selecting the appropriate electrical motor for the intended application. Although the permanent magnet synchronous motor appears to be the popular choice among electric car makers, the proposed comparative study demonstrates that the induction motor matches the essential requirements of electric vehicles.