Battery electric cars sold today in Europe produce 73% less life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions than gas cars, even when factoring in production, according to new research from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). That’s a big improvement from 2021, when the gap was 59%.
Meanwhile, hybrids and plug-in hybrids haven’t made much progress. The study confirms what clean transportation advocates have been saying for years: If Europe wants to seriously slash emissions from its dirtiest mode of transport – ICE passenger cars, which pump out nearly 75% of the sector’s pollution – it needs to go all-in on battery EVs.
“Battery electric cars in Europe are getting cleaner faster than we expected and outperform all other technologies, including hybrids and plug-in hybrids,” said ICCT researcher Dr. Marta Negri. Credit the continent’s rapid shift to renewables and the higher energy efficiency of EVs.
The makeup of the EU’s power grid is changing fast. By 2025, renewables are expected to generate 56% of Europe’s electricity, up from 38% in 2020. And that’s just the beginning: the share could hit 86% by 2045. Since cars bought today could still be on the road two decades from now, the growing use of clean electricity will only boost EVs’ climate benefits over time.
Gas-powered cars, on the other hand, will stay mostly tied to fossil fuels as the cost and availability of biofuels and e-fuels are still uncertain.
Hybrids and plug-in hybrids only cut lifetime emissions by 20% and 30%, respectively, compared to gas cars. That’s partly because plug-in hybrids tend to run on gas more than expected. So while hybrids aren’t useless, they’re just not good enough if we’re serious about climate goals.
Countering EV myths with hard data
There’s been a lot of noise lately about whether EVs are really that green. The ICCT study takes aim at the bad data and misleading claims floating around, like ignoring how the grid gets cleaner over time or using unrealistic gas mileage figures.
It’s true that manufacturing EVs creates more emissions upfront – about 40% more than making a gas car, mostly due to the battery. But EVs make up for it quickly: that extra emissions load is usually wiped out after about 17,000 km (10,563 miles) of driving, which most drivers hit in a year or two.
“We’ve recently seen auto industry leaders misrepresenting the emissions math on hybrids,” said Dr. Georg Bieker, senior researcher at the ICCT. “But life-cycle analysis is not a choose-your-own-adventure exercise.”
Top comment by Dan B
Great article and it has good timing based on an "interesting" conversation I had just today. I was on my way back to the dealership with a broker after delivering a new Volvo to their client. She was driving some big gas hog Honda SUV and she admitted to being in the thing mostly alone or maybe times with her husband. I told her that I'm an EV driver and could never go back to ICE now. Her response was stunning: She immediately said "Oh, I could never go EV. My son says they are way dirtier than gas". Without being rude, I simply said that it totally false and asked her why they think that. Expecting her to say EV's are worse in production, she instead said that EV's have all the used batteries going into the junk. I simply gave her some easy to find facts and expanded on those two (recycling and re-purposing).
And this is an auto broker who deals in cars on a daily basis. Imagine how many buyers reach out to this lady and are pushed away from EV's due to complete misinformation and false claims. Boy, does this country (USA) have a loooooong way to go in the education department.
ICCT’s new analysis includes emissions from vehicle and battery production and recycling, fuel and electricity production, and fuel consumption and maintenance. It even adjusts for how the electricity mix will change in the coming years – a key detail when measuring plug-in hybrid performance.
Read more: Volkswagen’s 47% BEV sales jump includes a 24% boost in the US
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