Fuel cell electric vehicles are being discussed as a potential solution to address the economic and environmental challenges facing the automotive sector. Similar to battery electric vehicles, they offer emission-free mobility. The drive system of fuel cell electric vehicles comprises several components, such as a fuel cell system, electric motor, power electronics, hydrogen storage system, and a rechargeable energy storage system, typically a battery. The power ratio between the fuel cell system and the rechargeable energy storage system is known as the degree of hybridization. Different definitions are presented in this manuscript. To assist developers in identifying optimal drive system configurations and energy management strategies through multi-objective optimization, this paper presents automated design methods for fuel cell drive systems. The authors concentrate on integrating energy management strategy optimization into the drive system design process and propose various approaches, which are subsequently evaluated in terms of their optimization performance and results. © 2023 The Authors.