System-Level Comparative Assessment of PMSM Rotor Topologies in Battery Electric Vehicles Under the WLTP Driving Cycle

Environmental regulations, rapid technological advancements, and evolving mobility trends have led to a significant transformation of the automotive industry in recent years. The adoption of battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) has been accelerated by these developments, which are becoming increasingly efficient and widely deployed. Evaluating BEV energy consumption and performance is essential for optimizing energy efficiency, extending driving range, and developing effective control strategies under real-world operating conditions. The analysis is based on the WLTP Class 3 driving cycle, in which the vehicle operating points are projected onto the motor efficiency map to evaluate the influence of real-world operating conditions on overall propulsion efficiency. Two operating scenarios are considered: with regenerative braking and without regenerative braking. The inverter and battery are modeled using quasi-static energy-based representations to ensure system-level energetic consistency while maintaining computational efficiency. The results show that rotor topology significantly influences vehicle-level energy consumption. The dual-layer IPM configuration reduces net WLTP energy demand by approximately 9% and increases the estimated driving range from about 489 km to 535 km compared to the single-layer V-shaped configuration. Variations in rotor topology led to different efficiency distributions, which leads to systematic differences in battery energy demand and achievable driving range. The results highlight the importance of aligning traction motor design with realistic operating-point distributions rather than optimizing solely for peak efficiency or marginal improvements in regenerative braking performance.