[Duncan]

When I look to purchase an electric motor the adverts always report the rated kw power and rated torque as well as the peak kw power and torque -

BUT when ever I look at advertisements for an electric car such as a Leaf or say an I-miev they never seem to specify whether or not the power is rated or peak

does anyone know where the truth lies?

I am asking this because it helps when deciding which motor to chose for my EV conversion

Rated should have a time against it - rated for one hour or whatever

Car engines are NOT "rated" for peak power - a 200 hp car engine will crap out if expected to maintain that
Truck engines and ship engines ARE rated for continuous power

Something like a Leaf is rated at 100 hp - but it will produce that and still have an incredibly low failure rate
You can get 300 hp out of a Leaf - but it probably won't last 300,000 miles

I have a 10 kw (13 hp) motor in my car - but I am overloading it with 400 kw - 540 hp - I have melted one motor - I'm hoping the next one will last longer

The current state of play is

Motor from an EV - powerful cheap and sophisticated

New AC motor - wimpy expensive and sophisticated

New DC motor - powerful expensive and unsophisticated

Forklift motor - powerful cheap and unsophisticated