In recent years, the electric vehicle (EV) motorization control takes a considerable interest of industrials. This paper, introduces a new approach to the direct torque control (arc) with loss minimization of induction machine (IM) drive which is proposed for EV applications. The purpose of this work is to take advantages of the strengths of both techniques DTC and optimal control, the new approach is called: optimal direct torque control (ODTC). Simulation and experimental results obtained show that the losses have been reduced by this method, since the flux varies depending on the load (operating point) and the current consumed by the machine is reduced therefore, the current delivered by the battery was reduced especially during acceleration and deceleration periods it would increase battery life and prevent its discharge. For this the proposed ODTC appears to be very convenient for EV. Copyright (C) 2015, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.