A large speed variation is an essential request in the automobile industry. In order to compete with diesel engines, the flux weakening technique has to be employed on the electrical machines. In this way, appropriate electromagnetic and geometrical parameters can give the desired speed. Using the inverse problem method coupled with numerical analysis by finite element method (FEM), the authors propose an optimum parameters configuration that maximizes the speed domain operation. Several types of electrical machines are under study: induction, synchronous permanent magnet, variable reluctance and transverse flux machines, respectively. With a proper non-linear model, by using analytical and numerical calculation, the authors propose an optimum solution for the speed variation of the studied drives, which will be standing for a final comparison. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.