E-cars emit up to 89 percent less CO2

Of course, the calculations have to cover the entire service life of a car and also include production.

Calculated over life cycle

“Manufacturer’s information and individual analyzes often fall short and falsify the real climate impact of their car purchase decisions for consumers. That’s why we have been collecting comprehensive data since the beginning of 2020 in order to show independently how the CO2 balance sheet of different drive types really is,” says Johannes Buberger from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Munich.

790 models examined

The researchers compared more than 790 current vehicle variants. And that includes battery production, which emits an enormous amount of CO2. When generating a battery for the Tesla Model 3 (Standard Range Plus), for example, as much CO2 is released as a VW Passat 2.0 TSI blows out of the exhaust during a 18,000-kilometer journey.

PHEV also significantly better

The researchers say that the e-models therefore perform significantly better over the entire service life. Compared to combustion engines, plug-in hybrids (PHEV) reduce CO2 emissions by 73 percent when using green electricity, and e-models by as much as 89 percent.