Suggested Citation:
Santero, Nicholas J., Laurel Nelson, Yunzhu Chen, Marisa Meredith, Pablo Busch, Alissa Kendall (2026)

Electrifying Light Vehicles in the United States Shows Emission Reduction Potential for All Vehicle Types and Powertrains

Light-duty vehicle electrification is a key decarbonization strategy for the transportation sector. To evaluate its effectiveness, the full diversity of vehicles on the market must be assessed. Here we analyze the life cycle carbon footprints of all model year 2023 light vehicles produced for sale in the United States and compare results across vehicle types (cars, small light trucks, large light trucks, and vans), and powertrains (internal combustion engine, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery electric). Under all modeled scenarios, including varying climate, electricity grids, and battery lifetime, battery electric vehicles reduce greenhouse gases relative to comparable internal combustion vehicles, including hybrids. We also undertake a hypothetical exercise, exploring the decarbonization potential of electrifying all vehicles sold in 2023. This leads to a 59% (820 teragrams carbon dioxide-equivalent) reduction in life cycle emissions for those vehicles, with 76% of that reduction from electrifying light trucks due to their low rate of electrification and the larger emissions reduction potential from replacing gasoline and diesel light trucks compared to cars.