AbstractIn this paper a novel sliding‐mode control algorithm, based on the differential geometry state‐co‐ordinates transformation method, is proposed to control motor torque directly. Non‐linear feedback linearization theory is employed to decouple the control of rotor flux magnitude and motor torque. The advantages of this method are: (1) The rotor flux and the generated torque can be accurately controlled. (2) Robustness with respect to matched and mismatched uncertainties is obtained. Additionally, a varying continuous control term is proposed. As a result, chattering is eliminated without sacrificing robustness and precision. The control strategy is based on all motor states being available. In practice the rotor fluxes are not usually measurable, and a sliding‐mode observer is derived to estimate the rotor flux. The observer is designed to possess invariant dynamic modes which can be assigned independently to achieve the desired performance. Furthermore, it can be shown that the observer is robust against model uncertainties and measurement noise. Simulation and practical results are presented to confirm the characteristics of the proposed control law and rotor flux observer. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.