In this paper, the starting torque and efficiency characteristics of the induction motor (IM) for the electric vehicle (EV) are improved by changing the slot shapes of squirrel cage. The initial model of the induction motor is designed by the loading distribution method (LDM), and then the rotor with squirrel cage of NEMA class A is selected to optimize the slot shape by response surface method(RSM). The design variables of rotor slot shape are obtained by the RSM. Starting torque and efficiency were calculated by the equivalent circuit method. As a result, starting torque and efficiency of the optimized model shows good performance through whole-speed range.