Control circuitry and equipment to allow control and interlocking of the various components Instrumentation specific to the operation and maintenance of the conversion Electric car conversion industry Electric car conversion has gone from being exclusively conducted by hobbyists and enthusiasts, to a rapidly growing industry. Spurred on by the climate crisis, electric vehicle conversions address the shortfall in new EV availability and also offer a more affordable route for many, as new electric vehicles remain more expensive than their internal combustion engine counterparts. This has also seen the EV conversion industry diverge away from only converting classic and high-end cars. As of early 2021, it is now possible to convert a petrol, diesel or hybrid vehicle to run as a battery electric car for around £6,000 ($8,300). The industry has worked closely with regulators across a number of countries to establish safety protocols and to ensure that annual vehicle inspection tests on electric conversions are conducted in the same way that any other electric vehicle would be. The biggest barrier to the widespread success of the EV conversion industry is the availability of batteries and motors, as vehicle manufacturers are not eager to sell their technology for this purpose. However, an open source community has grown alongside the electric vehicle conversion industry to enable batteries and motors from different manufacturers to work in unison in order to lower costs and overcome availability issues. To meet the growing demand for trained mechanics who can carry out electric vehicle conversion, organizations such as New Electric Ireland have developed training programmes to educate mechanics and hobbyists in how to carry out conversions. Since 2020, French regulations have authorized the electric conversion (retrofit) of a vehicle. To be converted to electric, the combustion vehicle must be roadworthy, registered in France and more than 5 years old. Hobbyist conversions Hobbyists often build their own EVs by converting existing production cars to run solely on electricity. There is a cottage industry supporting the conversion and construction of BEVs by hobbyists. Universities such as the University of California, Irvine even build their own custom electric or hybrid-electric cars from scratch. Short-range battery electric vehicles can offer the hobbyist comfort, utility, and quickness, sacrificing only range. Short-range EVs may be built using high-performance lead–acid batteries, using about half the mass needed for a range. The result is a vehicle with about a range, which, when designed with appropriate