This study introduces a non-singular terminal sliding mode control (NTSMC) method aimed at addressing the challenges of path tracking and energy efficient in corner module architecture intelligent electric vehicles. A comprehensive vehicle model featuring corner module architecture is developed, and a controller is designed using a prescribed performance function, significantly improving both the steady-state and transient performance of the vehicle. To alleviate the chattering issues commonly associated with sliding mode control, a saturation function is incorporated for optimization. Furthermore, the torque vectoring control based on quadratic programming achieves both the assurance of vehicle path tracking performance and the maximization of energy efficiency through real-time online energy-saving strategies and optimized torque distribution. The effectiveness of the NTSMC controller in achieving accurate path tracking, minimizing energy consumption, and mitigating chattering is verified through co-simulation in MATLAB/Simulink and CarSim. This validation strengthens its effectiveness and highlights promising prospects for application in electric vehicle control.