Relevance. Increasing need for using mining trucks with a diesel-electric (hybrid) drive for development of minerals. Improving operational and cost characteristics of the electric drive of mining trucks helps to reduce costs in the development of minerals. Aim. To compare theoretically the performance of synchronous traction motors of various designs (a conventional design with permanent magnets inside a rotor and a homopolar design without permanent magnets with an excitation winding on a stator), optimized by the same method, in the drive of a mining truck. To optimize the motor design to reduce power loss and required inverter power, as well as to limit torque ripple and reduce the risk of permanent magnet demagnetization. Objects. Design of twelve-pole nine-phase synchronous AC motors with a rated power of 370 kW of various designs: a homopolar motor without permanent magnets with an excitation winding on the stator and a motor of a traditional design with permanent magnets in the rotor. Methods. Derivative-free optimization method; equivalent circuit method; mathematical modeling; two-dimensional finite element method. Results. Based on the analysis, the advantages and disadvantages of the considered motors were revealed. The advantage of the motor with permanent magnets in the rotor is reduction in active part length by 30%. The advantage of the homopolar motor with an excitation winding on the stator are 4.6 times lower cost of active materials. In addition, the homopolar motor has a more reliable design, without the risk of overheating, demagnetization or deterioration of the properties of permanent magnets over time.