This paper presents an overview of modular inductive power transfer (IPT) systems and their applications on electric vehicle (EV). It provides a survey of the current situation in order to provide the readers with a brief insightful review. The paper identified and grouped the specific indicators of a good design in order to inform the future designers on the need to strike a balance. These indicators determine the performance metrics with which modular IPT can be evaluated. The paper also explores the breakthroughs of modular wireless IPT and identify the remaining challenges to motivate future contributions which can attract new ideas, and explore new possibilities. The interconnection between the challenges and the prospects have also been presented.