Life cycle assessment of alternative drives

This report examines greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions as well as the cumulative energy expenditure over the entire life cycle of different electric passenger car drive systems compared to conventional drive systems. Only a holistic view of environmentally relevant indicators makes it possible to make statements about the environmental effects of the different drive systems. In terms of the environmental indicators considered, purely electrically powered passenger cars perform significantly better than conventionally powered diesel/petrol vehicles. The additional electric drive in hybrid or plug-in hybrid vehicles leads to an environmentally relevant improvement. With renewable electricity as an energy source, these effects can be significantly increased.