From manufacturing to disposal, electric vehicles outperformed gas cars and hybrids, reports the University of Michigan
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Are electric vehicles (EVs) really a better choice for the environment? A new cradle-to-grave study by researchers at the University of Michigan says yes, with analysis that shows EVs have lower lifetime greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to internal-combustion-engine (ICE) vehicles, hybrids, and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). The study, titled Greenhouse Gas Reductions Driven by Vehicle Electrification Across Powertrains, Classes, Locations, and Use Patterns, showed that the EVs maintain that edge over vehicles with engines in every county in the contiguous United States.
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Along with GHG emissions from driving, the researchers including the manufacture of the vehicles and then their disposal at end-of-life; and they considered such factors as powertrains, vehicle class, location, and driving behaviour. For vehicle class, they used “generic” 2025 versions of pickup trucks, sedans, and SUVs, which are representative of new vehicles available to buyers. Driving behaviour included city and highway driving, vehicle location, and how often drivers in PHEVs were running on electricity rather than the gasoline engine. The results mirror those of a study done in Canada in 2025, which found that EVs have a higher carbon footprint when they’re built, but overcome that throughout their lifetime.
Greg Keoleian, a professor at the university’s School for Environment and Sustainability and the senior author of the study, said location matters in emissions because all vehicles use more fuel or have lower range in lower temperatures; and that power-grid emissions vary by location, with a “cleaner” grid emitting less greenhouse gas. The research was done, Keoleian said, so that it was possible to compare examples such as a gasoline pickup truck in Pennsylvania with an electric compact sedan in New Mexico.
The study showed, for the first time, that EVs have lower emissions over their lifetime than any other type of vehicle in every area of the contiguous United States. Greenhouse gas emissions are measured in grams of carbon dioxide equivalent, and on average, ICE pickup trucks were the top emitters at 486 grams. A hybrid pickup reduced that output by 23%; while a fully electric truck had a drop of 75%. Even when loaded with 2,500 lbs of cargo, an electric truck emitted less than 30% of what a gasoline-powered pickup did when it wasn’t carrying anything.
In another example, compared to a midsize gasoline-powered SUV, a compact EV sedan would have a drop of 73 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent when both were compared from manufacturing to disposal. Overall, compact EV sedans had the lowest emissions, at 81 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per mile. But EVs with lower range also had the lowest emissions rating – remember, this is cradle-to-grave – because making bigger batteries increases the vehicle’s lifetime emissions.
“Vehicle electrification is a key strategy for climate action,” Keoleian said. “Transportation accounts for 28% of greenhouse gas emissions and we need to reduce those to limit future climate impacts such as flooding, wildfires, and drought events, which are increasing in intensity and frequency. Our purpose here was to evaluate the cradle-to-grave greenhouse gas reduction from the electrification of vehicles, compared with a baseline of gasoline-powered vehicles.”
He added that the government is backing off incentives such as the U.S. electric-vehicle tax credit, “but the original equipment manufacturers are heavily invested and focused on the technology and affordability of EVs. EVs are becoming the dominant powertrain in other parts of the world, and manufacturers recognize that is the future for the U.S.”
In addition to the study, the team also created a free online calculator, so people can enter their locations and vehicles to determine their vehicle emissions.
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· Professional writer for more than 35 years, appearing in some of the top publications in Canada and the U.S.
· Specialties include new-vehicle reviews, old cars and automotive history, automotive news, and “How It Works” columns that explain vehicle features and technology
· Member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) since 2003; voting member for AJAC Canadian Car of the Year Awards; juror on the Women’s World Car of the Year Awards
Jil McIntosh graduated from East York Collegiate in Toronto, and then continued her education at the School of Hard Knocks. Her early jobs including driving a taxi in Toronto; and warranty administration in a new-vehicle dealership, where she also held information classes for customers, explaining the inner mechanical workings of vehicles and their features.
Jil McIntosh is a freelance writer who has been writing for Driving.ca since 2016, but she’s been a professional writer starting when most cars still had carburetors. At the age of eleven, she had a story published in the defunct Toronto Telegram newspaper, for which she was paid $25; given the short length of the story and the dollar’s buying power at the time, that might have been the relatively best-paid piece she’s ever written.
An old-car enthusiast who owns a 1947 Cadillac and 1949 Studebaker truck, she began her writing career crafting stories for antique-car and hot-rod car club magazines. When the Ontario-based newspaper Old Autos started up in 1987, dedicated to the antique-car hobby, she became a columnist starting with its second issue; the newspaper is still around and she still writes for it. Not long after the Toronto Star launched its Wheels section in 1986 – the first Canadian newspaper to include an auto section – she became one of its regular writers. She started out writing feature stories, and then added “new-vehicle reviewer” to her resume in 1999. She stayed with Wheels, in print and later digital as well, until the publication made a cost-cutting decision to shed its freelance writers. She joined Driving.ca the very next day.
In addition to Driving.ca, she writes for industry-focused publications, including Automotive News Canada and Autosphere. Over the years, her automotive work also appeared in such publications as Cars & Parts, Street Rodder, Canadian Hot Rods, AutoTrader, Sharp, Taxi News, Maclean’s, The Chicago Tribune, Forbes Wheels, Canadian Driver, Sympatico Autos, and Reader’s Digest. Her non-automotive work, covering such topics as travel, food and drink, rural living, fountain pen collecting, and celebrity interviews, has appeared in publications including Harrowsmith, Where New Orleans, Pen World, The Book for Men, Rural Delivery, and Gambit.
2016 AJAC Journalist of the Year; Car Care Canada / CAA Safety Journalism award winner in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2013, runner-up in 2021; Pirelli Photography Award 2015; Environmental Journalism Award 2019; Technical Writing Award 2020; Vehicle Testing Review award 2020, runner-up in 2022; Feature Story award winner 2020; inducted into the Street Rodding Hall of Fame in 1994.
Email: jil@ca.inter.net
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jilmcintosh/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JilMcIntosh
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