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Electric vehicles are promoting sustainable developments in the automotive industry. But the short driving range has been an inconvenience to the electric vehicle (EV) users. This paper evaluates the potential of Photovoltaic integrated into EV in real-world conditions to assess energy consumption, range and EV's charging frequency for battery and fuel cell powertrain configurations. A simulation model is developed, which estimates the energy production through onboard Photovoltaics, energy consumption, and range under diverse driving profiles for five different vehicle types, ranging from Micro-car, 5 seaters light-duty vehicle, Shuttle and heavy-duty vehicles. The results showed that the range increased with reduced energy consumption and charging frequency with onboard Photovoltaics for battery powertrain configuration. The range improved by 30–50% for Microcar and 30–100% for the 5-seater vehicle with the private driving profile. Simultaneously, for Shuttle, an increase in the range between 5 and 15% is reported. On the contrary, the results indicated the fuel cell powertrain configuration does not present an added value with onboard Photovoltaics. Further analysis showed that the higher irradiance rates improved the operational period of Photovoltaic integrated into EV by 5 more days than standard EV. Finally, the economic analysis revealed that Photovoltaics integrated into EV is profitable, reaching the break-even point on the additional photovoltaics expense before the half-life of the vehicle, which makes the total ownership cost lower than a standard EV for its lifetime. • Assessment of PVEV in real-world driving for battery and fuel cell powertrain configurations. • Simulation model developed to estimate energy production through onboard PV. • Range is boosted by 30–100% in moderate urban private use driving profiles. • Higher irradiance rates improved operational capacity by 5 more days. • PVEV is profitable, reaching the breakeven point before the vehicle half-life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Light duty and heavy duty vehicle model is tested for different power sources. • Battery as power source is optimal of LDV. • Fuel cell powered powertrain is optimal for trucks and coaches. • Ultra capacitor powered powertrain is recommended for public transportation. • Fuel cell vehicle become economically cheaper once the production increases to 100,000 units/year. As alternative vehicle technologies gain more importance in the market, this work assesses the possibility of a multi power source vehicle configuration by evaluating the performance of an electric vehicle powered by battery (BEV), fuel cell (FCEV), ultra-capacitor (UC) and combination of the former. A flexible vehicle simulation model was developed in MATLAB-Simulink and vehicle performance was evaluated in various 1 Hz certified cycles, enabling the assessment of light duty and heavy-duty vehicles powered by various power sources. The developed model accurately estimates energy consumption and range of passenger vehicle with an average absolute error of less than 4% and 2% for the electric bus. The study showed that BEV has the least energy consumption (23%), followed by FCEV (65%) compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in real world conditions. Regarding the combination of energy sources, an increase in range by 10% is estimated when battery is combined with fuel cell, while combining ultra-capacitor with battery enables a lifetime extension of battery life by 10%, with negligible change in range. Combining secondary sources with fuel cell shows a reduction of total fuel cell capacity by 40% for the same operation. Analysis on ultra-capacitor showed negative response with light duty vehicle, while for buses the usage of batteries shows positive results with negative impacts on cost and recharging time. Ultra-capacitors are highly recommended for short-frequent trips with fast recharging and a life of 20 years, while fuel cells as a primary energy source are recommended for the long-range trips in coaches and trucks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]