Abstract The control strategy of switched reluctance motor (SRM) in-wheel motor is investigated in order to reduce the influence of torque ripple of SRM on the ride comfort. The nonlinear model of switched reluctance motor (SRM) is established and the variable angle control strategy with optimal switch angles is applied to control SRM. However, the variable angle control strategy can not reduce the torque ripple of SRM significantly. Therefore, some advanced control strategies are developed to improve the ride comfort in electric vehicle. In this paper, the fuzzy proportional integration differential (PID) is developed to improve the torque ripple of SRM in which the fuzzy control idea is utilized to adjust the parameters of proportional integration differential (PID) control online and ensure the adaptive capabilities of the fuzzy proportional integration differential (PID) control to motor driving system. On the other hand, the fast terminal sliding mode control strategy is also presented due to its nonlinear and robustness. The results show that although the fuzzy proportional integration differential (PID) can improves the stability of the system over the conventional proportional integration differential (PID), the torque ripple of SRM can not be attenuated significantly. However, the fast terminal sliding mode control strategy not only improves the stability of the system, but also reduces the torque ripple significantly . This implies a potential application of the fast terminal sliding mode control strategy in the control of in-wheel motors for electric vehicle. Key words switched reluctance motor, variable angle control, torque distribution, fuzzy PID, fast terminal sliding mode Introduction In recent years, the electric vehicles (EV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) develop rapidly due to energy shortage and environment degradation in the world. The in-wheel-drive electrical vehicle has many merits such as the lightweight, high efficiency and long mileage. It is because the in-wheel motor technology requires the mounting of an electric motor directly on the wheel hub without gears or chains to minimize the number of mechanical power transmission parts and thereby reduce the energy loss. The switched reluctance motor (SRM) is gaining recognition in in-wheel-drive electrical vehicle due to its simple and rugged construction, low expected manufacturing cost, fault tolerance capability, high efficiency and high torque to inertia ratio. Despite these advantages, the SRM has some disadvantages: it requires an electronic control and shaft position sensor, a huge capacitor is needed in the DC link and the double salient structure causes noise and torque ripple. The primary disadvantage of the SRM is the higher torque ripples compared to conventional motors, which results in acoustic noise and vibration [ 1]. The origin of torque pulsations in SRM is the highly non-linear electromechanical behavior (dependence on the current and mechanical position) and the extreme magnetic saturation in order to achieve high torque density [ 2] and discrete nature of torque production mechanism. The minimization of the torque ripples is essential in high performance applications of in-wheel motor in electric vehicle. Kim et al proposed an integrated design of in-wheel motor system on rear wheels for small electric vehicle in which SRM is adopted as in-wheel motor [ 3]. Castro et al proposed direct instantaneous torque control to minimize of torque ripple in switched reluctance motor driving system [ 4]. The document focuses of the interior noise and its transfer path of 4-independentdriving wheel electrical vehicle and points out that the in-wheel motor's torque ripple directly leads to the circumferential torque fluctuation of the wheel and this is the main cause of the resonant vibration of the vehicle power train [ 5]. Therefore, how to reduce the torque ripple becomes the bottle neck problem to deter