Promoting environmentally benign electric vehicles

In the last decade a rapidly growing interest in electrification of transport passenger cars could be noticed. The major motivation are the problems related to the use of fossil fuels in the transport sector such as crude oil dependency, greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and air pollution. Electric vehicles (EV) are often presented as zero-emission vehicles. However, from a lifecycle CO2 perspective, EVs are not zero-emissions vehicles. Total emissions are very dependent on the kind of electricity which is used in vehicles. The core objective of this paper is to analyze costs and emissions of various types of electric vehicles and to provide an overview of policies and strategies for the promotion of electric vehicles in different countries. Our method of approach is based on lifecycle assessment of GHG emissions of EVs powered by electricity from different energy sources (fossil and renewable energy sources (RES)). The economic performances of EVs are investigated considering investment, operation and fuel costs. The future market penetration of EVs is analyzed considering technological learning and promotion strategies. The major result of our analysis show, that total GHG emissions could be reduced only in the case that electricity used in EVs is produced from RES. In the case that electricity is produced from fossil energy e.g. coal, total emissions are higher than that of the conventional cars. The major conclusion of this work is that still a number of barriers exists to be overcome in order to increase market penetration of EVs (e.g. technology maturity, high costs of battery, infrastructure, regulation, etc.). In addition, it is important to ensure that EVs are using electricity from RES to really contribute to the sustainability of transport. The use of CO2-based taxes could support this. Furthermore, emission-free zones in urban areas are a very important completing policy tool. © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of ISES