A recent ICCT study compares the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) of different drive systems – gasoline, diesel, and natural gas internal combustion engines (ICEV), hybrid (HEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV), battery electric (BEV), and fuel cell (FCEV) – over their entire life cycle, from production, operation, maintenance, and on to recycling.
The result? Over their life cycle, BEVs have the lowest emissions. This is because BEVs have on average 73 percent lower life cycle emissions than gasoline passenger cars in the EU. With the projected power mix for 2025–2044, they emit 63 g CO₂e/km compared to 235 g for gasoline ICEVs. Despite approximately 40 percent higher production emissions (battery), this disadvantage is offset after around 17,000 km. With pure green electricity, BEV values drop to 52 g (−78 percent).
FCEVs only achieve similarly low emissions (50 g CO₂e/km) with renewable hydrogen. With fossil H₂ from natural gas, they are 175 g (−26 percent). HEVs and PHEVs cause 20 percent and 30 percent fewer GHG than gasoline cars, respectively, but their emissions remain three times higher than those of BEVs. Diesel and gasoline ICEVs are almost on par (234–235 g), while natural gas vehicles emit 13 percent less emissions. More biofuels in the mix only slightly reduce ICEV emissions (max. −3 percent).
The study warns that non-representative assumptions about service life, consumption, or power mix distort the results. This means that ICEV and HEV emissions are underestimated by 7–11 percent and PHEV emissions by 32 percent, while BEV emissions are overestimated by up to 64 percent.
Only BEVs with an average EU power mix offer low life cycle emissions across the board; FCEVs only with renewable hydrogen. ICEVs, HEVs and PHEVs cannot achieve EU climate targets with the foreseeable fuel mix. Therefore, it is essential that a ban on new registrations for these types of vehicles be enacted by 2035. This must be accompanied by a reduction in manufacturing emissions, the introduction of BEV efficiency standards, and the decarbonization of the electricity sector.