Growing concerns over the limited supply of fossil-based fuels are motivating intense activity in the search for alternative road transportation propulsion systems. In addition, regulatory pressures to reduce urban pollution, CO2
emissions and city noise have made plug-in electric vehicles [23, 166] a very attractive choice as the alternative to the internal combustion engine [140]. However, despite the enormous benefits of such vehicles, their adoption and
uptake has, to this point, been disappointing. In this chapter we shall outline some of the impediments to electric vehicles, and discuss some of the solutions to these problems that will be addressed in this book, as well as other
opportunities that arise when using this new form of mobility. Basically, an Electric Vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that no longer relies solely on an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) as the only propulsion mechanism, but rather uses an electric drive system as a replacement, or to enhance, the ICE. Roughly speaking, three types of electrically propelled vehicles can be distinguished.