## 2 Electric Vehicles: History and Evolution
In 1971, NASA used its Lunar Rover EV, with a range of 90 km and a speed of 13 km/h, for the Apollo 15 mission on the Moon's surface [39]. Another example of an EV from the same era was the 1974 Citicar [44]. In 1976, Chevrolet offered the Electrovette [45], and in the same year Volkswagen announced an Elektro-Golf, which had an external appearance similar to the original Golf GTi [46]. In 1979, Chrysler presented the ETV-1 Electric Car [47] and the Comuta EV [48]. All these models were limited in both top speed (72 km/h) and autonomy (64 km). In the 1980s, various environmental studies determined that one of the most important causes of pollution in large cities was ICEVs [49]. Electronics industries were called upon to improve battery capacity, with Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) batteries already on the market at the end of 1980s, and Lithium batteries with a much higher energy density very close to becoming a reality (1991) [50]. Due to the pollution levels reached in these years, the California Air Resources Board made the decision that by 1998 2% of the cars sold should not produce emissions and by 2003 this should increase to 10% [51]. In 1996, General Motors began full-scale manufacturing of the all-electric GM EV1. After thousands of units had been sold, the zero-emissions requirement was abruptly changed to low emissions, leading to General Motors pulling all EVs from the market. Toyota left some of its RAV-4 type models on the market. Officially, users were told that this action was due to the end of the useful life of the batteries [38]. The next step was the development of hybrid vehicles, which supported a gasoline engine using NiMH batteries. In 1997, Toyota launched the Prius in Japan. In 2000, its distribution was expanded worldwide with great success, becoming the most sold hybrid model in the world [52]. In 2007, companies decided to manufacture EVs again due to increases in fuel prices. In 2008-2009, Tesla built a 100% EV Tesla Roaster with a lithium battery and 320 km of autonomy [53]. In 2010, a Daihatsu Mira was converted into an EV by the Japan Electric Vehicle Club, with the range exceeding 1003 km one charge [54]. In the same year, the EV 'Venturi Jamais Contente' reached a speed of 515 km/h [55]. At the same time, the 'Lekker Mobil' traveled 605 km from Munich to Berlin on a single charge of 115 kWh in real cooling/heating and traffic conditions [56]. The Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle (E-REV) was launched on the market in 2010. In this technology the power transmitted to the wheels is completely electrical and comes from two sources, the first stored in the vehicle batteries and the second produced by converting gasoline to electricity [57]. In 2011, the Nissan Leaf was declared the best car by the European Car of the Year awards [58]. The Opel Ampera, commercially launched in 2011, offered plug-in vehicle capabilities while being an E-REV [59]. In 2012 it was declared the best car in the European Car of the Year awards [60]. In 2013, the Drayson Racing Technologies B12/69 EV reached 330 km/h [61]. In 2014, Nissan's ZEOD RC reached 300 km/h [62]. In the same year, the e-Golf was introduced on the market with a 24.2 kWh battery. In 2017, its capacity was increased to 35.8 kWh [63]. In 2017, the Rimac Concept reached 1088 hp, comparable to the famous Bugatti Veyron with 1001 hp [64]. In 2021, the 'e-Miles' was presented; designed for city driving, it is driven with a joystick, 90% of its parts are 3D printed, and it can be controlled via smartphone, with autonomous driving planned as well. [65]. In 2022, the high-end 'Lucid Air' was sold with a range of up to 520 miles, surpassing the 500-mile range anxiety barrier for customers regarding EVs compared to ICEVs [66]. Advances in 2023 and 2024 have been fundamentally dedicated to increasing autonomy, safety, and battery reliability [67], deploying a greater number of fast chargers accessible to citizens [68], and reducing the price of EVs to facilitate user uptake [69].