MULTI-GEARED OR CVT-BASED SYNCHRONOUS RELUCTANCE MACHINE POWERTRAIN ARCHITECTURE

A powertrain system for a vehicle includes a synchronous reluctance machine having a rotor defining a plurality of circumferentially-spaced regions having relatively low reluctance interspaced with regions having relatively high reluctance. A transmission is operatively disposed between the synchronous reluctance machine and one or more wheels. A controller is configured to: determine, for given values of axle torque and output speed, a plurality of different sets of values for a gear ratio of the transmission and for motor speed of the synchronous reluctance machine; determine an optimal set of the plurality of different sets of values for a gear ratio of the transmission and for motor speed of the synchronous reluctance machine; and operate the synchronous reluctance machine and the transmission in accordance with the optimal set of values for a gear ratio of the transmission and for motor speed of the synchronous reluctance machine.