 Abstract -- Hybrid and electric vehicles have been the focus of many academic and industrial studies to reduce transport pollution; they are now established products. In hybrid and electric vehicles, the drive motor should have high torque density, high power density, high efficiency, strong physical structure and variable speed range. An axial flux induction motor is an interesting solution, where the motor is a double sided axial flux machine. This can significantly increase torque density. In this paper a review of the axial flux motor for automotive applications, and the different possible topologies for the axial field motor, are presented. Index Terms-- Axial flux induction motor, radial flux machine, hybrid and electric vehicles, single and double side rotor. I. INTRODUCTION UTOMOTIVE vehicles are obviously a common means of transport. The pollution caused by combustion engines reduced air quality, increase the contamination carbon dioxide in the environment, especially in large cities where the concentration of vehicles can be very important. An alternative sustainable solution for transportation is therefore needed to reduce emissions. Plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles have been the focus of many researchers and automotive companies in the world to solve this problem. These are now commercially available. It should be born in mind that the electric energy used in these vehicles should be sourced from renewable energy sources for these vehicles to be classed as “green”. In the design of the electric vehicles, energy and power density of energy storage and conversion units are important, and indirectly related to the size and weight of the vehicle. The electric motor used in an electric vehicle can be DC or AC and the controller of the motor is associated to the motor type. These need to be very torque dense and operate over a wide speed range. [1] Presented a review of diverse types of electric machine used in HEVs and EVs. In [2], in 1988, author proposed a toroidally-wound, slotless, permanent-magnet, brushless DC motor. This approach highlighted the potential of the axial- flux permanent magnet machine and its high efficiency and high power density, and to generate high torque at low speed. In [3] Platt proposed an axial-flux induction motor, which directly drove the two wheels. In the following discussion, major types of axial field motors are described; based on the flux direction in the air gap electromechanical energy conversion, machines are classified as either a radial and  F. C. Mushid and D. G. Dorrell are with The University of KwaZulu- Natal, Howard College Campus, Durban 4041, South Africa (e-mail: franckmushid@gmail.com and dorrelld@ukzn.ac.za). axial-flux machine. However, the working principal of both axial and radial flux machines is obviously the same. They may be characterized by their conductor geometry and field orientation as shown in Fig. 1: the radial-field machine, is where the airgap flux is radial and the conductors are axial; and axial-field machine, is where the airgap flux is axial and the conductors are radial. Axial flux are more commonly brushless permanent magnet machines. [4] compares the advantages of the axial flux permanent magnet and the induction motor for radial flux machines. It was discussed that due to limited rare-earth magnet material resources, an axial flux induction machine could be a better choice for automotive applications; the use of high-power variable-speed induction motor drives have gained interest, particularly, in high speed compressor systems, for energy conversion units, and in high pressure pumps. The use of network frequency could allow these machines to reach high speed in their operation [5][6]. The work in [7][8] proposed light construction and excellent mechanical and dynamical performance are properties make the axial flux induction machine well adaptable to medium speed operation (3000-15000 rpm). It is interesting to note that the rotor is disc shaped and is made from solid steel with an inserted cage made from cut plate of good conductor. There have been patents filed to address various aspects of the machine [9][10] though the general geometry appears to have been postulated prior to these patents [11][12] so the patented aspects of the arrangement seems clouded. The machine continues to be studied and researched [13][14]. The permanent magnet version of the axial flux machine has been commercialized [15][16][17] and [12][18] are seeking to do the same with the axial flux induction motor for specific applications. Fig. 1. Flux orientation It has been shown again in [19] that the construction of an axial field machine rotor could be readily varied, an axial flux induction motor could be designed to have a small or large inertia. It is can be seen that better ventilation and cooling can be achieved as the axial field holds a greater diameter-to-length ratio and also its inner diameter could be Review of Axial Flux Induction Motor for Automotive Applications F. C. Mushid and D. G. Dorrell A 978-1-5090-5853-2/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE 146