Cogging torque, the primary ripple component in the torque generated by permanent magnet (PM) motors, is due to the slotting on the stator or rotor. This article shows the reduction of cogging torque in a novel axial flux permanent magnet (AFPM) motor through the various design schemes. 3D finite element method is used for the exact magnetic field analysis. The effects of slot shapes and skewing of slot on the cogging torque and the average torque have been investigated in detail.