<p>Electric vehicles are becoming popular nowadays to reduce the use of internal combustion engine vehicles which increases the emissions. Motor serves as the powertrain in electric vehicle and its thermal management is an important issue of research in EVs since it demands an effective cooling system and analysis method. In an electric motor, the winding generates most of the heat and increase in winding temperature leads to insulation failure, winding damage, and burnout of motor. Therefore, lowering its temperature is crucial for motor safeguard and improvement in the motor performance. The purpose of this study is to examine the performance of a 1.2-kW air-cooled PMSM motor with different fin housing designs. The motor’s performance is investigated using both experimental and numerical techniques. The motor is tested for its performance to record temperatures, output power, and efficiency under various loading conditions. Numerical simulation technique is used to validate experimental temperature data. A novel housing design is proposed, for which the numerical analysis is presented. To obtain a high heat transfer rate, the temperature difference between the housing and surrounding has to be more to achieve high convective heat transfer from the housing surface and this can be done by increasing the housing surface area. Hence, the housing is modified by increasing the number of fins from 35 to 45, which increases the temperature of the housing by 11.43% and the heat transmission rate from the motor up to 89% when compared to the old motor housing design.</p>