In this paper, analysis of cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter in DTC-SVM (Direct Torque Control-Space Vector Modulation) based induction motor drive for FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle) is presented. Cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter uses multiple series units of H-bridge power cells to achieve medium-voltage operation and low harmonic distortion. In FCEV, a fuel cell stack is used as the major source of electric power moreover the battery and/or ultra-capacitor is used to assist the fuel cell. These sources are suitable for utilizing in cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter. The drive control strategy is based on DTC-SVM technique. In this scheme, first, stator voltage vector is calculated and then realized by SVM method. Contribution of multilevel inverter to the DTC-SVM scheme is led to achieve high performance motor drive. Simulations are carried out in Matlab-Simulink. Five-level and nine-level inverters are applied in 3hp FCEV induction motor drive for analysis the multilevel inverter. Each H-bridge is implemented using one fuel cell and battery. Good dynamic control and low ripple in the torque and the flux as well as distortion decrease in voltage and current profiles, demonstrate the great performance of multilevel inverter in DTC-SVM induction motor drive for vehicle application.