The application of renewable sources such as solar photovoltaic (PV) to charge electric vehicle (EV) is an interesting option that offers numerous technical and economic opportunities. By combining the emission-free EV with the low carbon PV power generation, the problems related to the greenhouse gases due to the internal combustion engines can be reduced. Over the years, numerous papers, including several review work, have been published on EV charging using the grid electricity. However, there seems to be an absence of a review paper on EV charging using the PV as one of the energy sources. With growing interest in this topic, this review summarizes and updates some of the important aspects of the PV-EV charging. For the benefit of a wider audience, it provides the background on the EV fundamentals, batteries and a brief overview on the PV systems. Two types of PV-EV charging, namely the PV-grid and the PV-standalone, are comprehensively covered. Moreover, a case study is carried out in comparison to the grid-only charging to critically analyse the technical and the economical feasibilities of both types using Matlab simulation. At the end, recommendations and future directions are presented. It is envisaged that the material gathered in this paper will be a valuable source of information for the researchers working on this topic. Copyright (c) 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.