Study by Bundeswehr University: Electric Cars with Best Environmental Balance

Over the entire lifecycle of a car, from production to scrapping, carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced by up to 89 percent through electrification. Researchers at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich have discovered this. At the Center for Digitalization and Technology Research, they compared over 790 current car models. Their conclusion, published on February 7, 2022, states that the total emissions are significantly reduced with battery-electric drives, but also already with plug-in hybrids.

The researchers emphasize that it makes no sense to point out emissions during a single phase, such as production. For instance, battery-electric vehicles exhibit the highest greenhouse gas emissions during production, yet they still fare better in the overall analysis over their usage duration and recycling compared to models with internal combustion engines.

The students provide an example: They write that the emissions from the battery production of a current Tesla Model 3 as a Standard Range-Plus model would be as high as those of a gasoline-powered VW Passat 2.0 TSI over a distance of only 18,000 kilometers. By using green electricity, plug-in hybrids could reduce total emissions by 73 percent and battery electric vehicles by up to 89 percent. It remains open which electric usage share the researcher assumed for plug-in hybrids.