There is a strong tendency of development and application of different types of electric vehicles (EV). This can clearly be beneficial for transport systems in terms of making it more efficient, cleaner, and quieter, as well as for energy systems due to the grid load leveling and renewable energy sources exploitation opportunities. The latter can be achieved only through application of smart EV charging technologies that strongly rely on application of optimization methods. For the development of both EV architectures and controls and charging optimization methods, it is important to gain the knowledge about driving cycle features of a particular EV fleet. To this end, the paper presents an overview of (i) electric vehicle architectures, modeling, and control system optimization and design; (ii) experimental characterization of vehicle fleet behaviors and synthesis of representative driving cycles; and (iii) aggregate-level modeling and charging optimization for EV fleets, with emphasis on freight transport.