Electric cars beat combustion engines in terms of CO2 emissions

14.07.2025

Source: E & M pwoernews

Electric vehicles produce significantly fewer greenhouse gases over their life cycle than combustion engines. This is shown by an updated ICCT study for the EU.

A life cycle analysis by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) shows that electric cars in the European Union cause significantly fewer greenhouse gas emissions over their life cycle than vehicles with combustion engines. The analysis by the ICCT, a non-profit research organization based in Washington, is based on assumptions about vehicle use, the future electricity mix and service life. The study relates to mid-segment cars that were newly registered in the EU this year.

Among other things, the analysis takes into account greenhouse gas emissions from the manufacture and recycling of vehicles and batteries, the production of fuels and electricity, consumption during operation and maintenance costs. The study is an update of earlier ICCT life cycle analyses.

Compared to petrol-powered vehicles with an average biofuel content, the emissions of electric cars are 73 percent lower over their entire life cycle. While petrol-powered vehicles emit 235 grams of CO2 equivalent per kilometer (g CO2/km), e-cars achieve a value of 63 g CO2/km in the scenario with the expected EU electricity mix for 2025 to 2044. If only renewable energies are used, this value drops to 52 g CO2/km.

Although, according to this analysis, the production emissions of e-mobiles are around 40 percent higher than those of combustion engines due to battery production, these additional emissions would already be offset after around 17,000 km - typically within the first one to two years.

Hybrids with limited potential

Hybrid vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), on the other hand, fare worse: their emissions would only be 20 to 30 percent lower than those of gasoline-only vehicles. According to the researchers, the analysis takes real consumption values into account, based on current on-board measurement data for PHEVs. Hydrogen-powered vehicles (FCEVs) only achieve comparably low emissions to electric vehicles if the hydrogen is produced using renewable electricity.

Another result: even in an optimistic scenario for increasing proportions of advanced biofuels in petrol and diesel, emissions from combustion engines only fall by a few percentage points. This is not enough to close the gap to low-emission drive technologies.

Combustion engines must be phased out by 2035

The authors of the study believe that a ban on new registrations of vehicles with combustion engines, including hybrids, is necessary from 2035 in order to achieve the EU's climate targets. Electric vehicles offer the greatest reduction potential among the drive systems analyzed. Hydrogen-powered vehicles would require an exclusive supply of renewable hydrogen, which is currently not foreseeable.

The entire report is available online as a PDF on the ICCT website and is entitled "Life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions from passenger cars in the European Union".

Author: Heidi Roider