SUMMARYIn this study, a traction drive electric motor was designed with a new magnet‐free motor design technique where electromagnets are generated on a rotor by utilizing changes in the spatial second harmonic of the magnetic fields. To apply the proposed technique to electric motor design, balancing the rotor and stator magnetomotive force is important. This paper presents design methods for adjusting the rotor and stator magnetomotive forces. A test motor was designed with these design methods and evaluated using a motor bench. The analytical and measurement data indicated that the proposed motor performed comparably to magnet motors.