Although nearly all countries in the world have taken active measures to mitigate the greenhouse effect, which is the primary cause of extreme climate change, the electric motor accounts for 40-50% of the total global electricity consumption, thus becoming the primary appliance requiring high-efficiency standards. In this report, a survey is conducted on high-efficiency motor promotion cases in Taiwan and developed countries. Furthermore, a comparison of the policy, technology, regulatory, and trend aspects is summarized. We conclude that the research and technical development of DC brushless motors is the most popular program in the motor industry, and permanent magnet synchronous motors are essentially the, most welcome product in the market. The corresponding R&D items include the optimization of the motor design, electromagnetic enhancement of silicon steel sheets, promotion of the advantages of the permanent magnetic field, modification of the wire-winding technology, and improvements in the electronic control technology. Described at the end of this report, the suggested policies for the development of high-efficiency motors are applicable to Taiwan as well as other countries. The energy saving and carbon reduction issues as well as the approach of the high-energy price era have led to the rapid development and popularization of high-efficiency motors. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.