This article presents the control of solar photovoltaic (PV) battery-fed reluctance synchronous motor drive for light electric vehicle. The system performance is evaluated based on the Indian driving cycle (IDC). This system uses a bidirectional dc–dc converter for regulating battery power for different operating conditions as per IDC. For augmenting the performance of the battery, a rooftop solar-PV panel is installed with a dc–dc boost converter for maximum power point tracking. The reluctance synchronous motor drive is operated using three-phase voltage inverter with hysteresis current control and energy regeneration of the stored kinetic energy of the system. The speed and position of the reluctance synchronous motor drive are also estimated using flux linkages, which makes this system cost effective. The reluctance synchronous motor drive is simulated in MATLAB/Simulink for dynamic and steady-state conditions of the vehicle. The system's applicability and performance are validated by test results recorded on a laboratory-developed experimental setup in detail.