Governing smart city EV networks: A privacy-preserving, IOTA-based architecture for decentralized urban infrastructure

Electric vehicles (EVs) are increasingly central to sustainable mobility, yet their integration into smart city infrastructures remains limited by centralized data systems that restrict scalability, threaten user privacy, and heighten exposure to cyber risks. Most prior work has concentrated on technical performance, with little attention to governance requirements such as accountability, regulatory compliance, and citizen trust. To address this gap, this study develops a decentralized EV data management framework based on IOTA’s Tangle, a distributed ledger designed for secure, scalable, and fee-less interactions across vehicles, charging stations, and urban digital platforms. Using a comparative design, conventional blockchain systems are evaluated against IOTA through simulation results. Findings show that the IOTA-based model sustains faster validation, eliminates fees, and supports higher throughput, while also aligning with governance principles reflected in policies such as the GDPR. The study demonstrates how distributed ledgers can advance both technical feasibility and trust in EV ecosystems.