Projected Direct Carbon Dioxide Emission Reductions as a Result of the Adoption of Electric Vehicles in Gauteng Province of South Africa

Factors influencing global transportation electrification: Comparative analysis of electric and internal combustion engine vehicles

Status of electric vehicles in South Africa and their carbon mitigation potential

The Indian automobile industry is undergoing a paradigm shift with the increasing focus on Electric Vehicles (EVs). Driven by the dual objectives of reducing carbon emissions and minimizing dependence on fossil fuels, India is witnessing a growing interest in EVs among consumers, manufacturers, and policymakers. This study explores the current landscape of electric vehicles in India, focusing on the opportunities for growth, such as government support, technological advancement, and environmental benefits, as well as the challenges, including infrastructure limitations, high costs, and consumer skepticism. Using primary and secondary data sources, this research provides an analytical understanding of India's readiness for an EV revolution and offers strategic suggestions to accelerate adoption. The 21st century has witnessed a transformative shift in the global transportation landscape, driven by the urgent need to mitigate environmental degradation, reduce dependency on fossil fuels, and adopt sustainable technologies. Among the most promising innovations in this domain is the development and adoption of Electric Vehicles (EVs). These vehicles offer a cleaner and greener alternative to conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, and noise levels. In the context of India, one of the fastest-growing economies with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, the transition to electric mobility presents both immense opportunities and significant challenges. India’s transportation sector is currently a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and urban air pollution. With increasing urbanization and motorization, the demand for personal and commercial vehicles is rising rapidly, exacerbating environmental concerns. At the same time, India imports more than 80% of its crude oil requirements, leading to substantial economic burden and energy insecurity. In this scenario, Electric Vehicles have emerged as a strategic solution, aligning with India’s commitments under the Paris Agreement and its broader goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. The Indian government has been proactive in promoting EV adoption through initiatives like the FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) scheme, offering incentives, subsidies, and tax benefits to consumers and manufacturers alike. State governments have also introduced EV policies aimed at encouraging local manufacturing, creating charging infrastructure, and increasing public awareness. Moreover, the falling costs of lithium-ion batteries, technological advancements, and the rising popularity of shared mobility platforms are further strengthening the EV ecosystem. Despite these favorable developments, India’s EV market is still at a nascent stage, accounting for only a small fraction of the overall automobile sales. The path to widespread EV adoption is hindered by several critical challenges, such as inadequate charging infrastructure, high initial costs, limited driving range, battery performance concerns, and lack of consumer awareness. These factors have created a gap between policy ambitions and actual ground-level adoption, especially in rural and semi-urban areas. This study aims to critically examine the opportunities and challenges associated with the adoption of electric vehicles in India. It explores the current status of the EV industry, government policies, market trends, consumer perception, technological barriers, and the socio-economic implications of a shift toward electric mobility. By analyzing both primary data from stakeholders and secondary sources including industry reports and academic studies, this research endeavors to provide a holistic understanding of the electric vehicle landscape in India. The findings of this study will be valuable for policymakers, automobile manufacturers, environmentalists, and consumers alike. It will not only shed light on the practical obstacles that need to be addressed but also offer strategic recommendations to accelerate the growth of electric vehicles in India. Ultimately, the transition to electric mobility is not merely a technological change—it represents a fundamental shift toward a more sustainable, energy- efficient, and environmentally responsible future.

Well-to-wheel greenhouse gas emissions of electric versus combustion vehicles from 2018 to 2030 in the US

As many countries transition to electric vehicles (EVs) to reduce tailpipe emissions from internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs), both vehicle types continue to generate non-exhaust particulate matter (PM), including tire wear, brake wear, road surface wear, and particularly road dust resuspension. Among these, road dust resuspension is a major contributor to non-exhaust PM. While factors such as vehicle weight and drivetrain configuration have been extensively studied in fleet-level research, direct comparisons between ICEVs and EVs of the same model have not been explored. This study investigates the effects of drivetrain, vehicle weight, and payload on road dust resuspension emissions from ICEV and EV models. Two experimental approaches were employed: (1) acceleration from 0 to 60 km/h, and (2) a simulated real-world driving cycle (RDC). Each test was conducted under both light and heavy payload conditions. The results show that the EV consistently emitted more PM than the ICEV during both acceleration and RDC tests, based on factory-standard vehicle weights. Under identical vehicle weight conditions, the EV demonstrated higher PM resuspension levels, likely due to its higher torque and more immediate power delivery, which increases friction between the tires and the road, particularly during rapid acceleration. Both vehicle types exhibited significant increases in PM emissions under heavy payload conditions. These findings underscore the importance of addressing non-exhaust emissions from EVs, particularly road dust resuspension, and highlight the need for further research into mitigation strategies, such as vehicle lightweighting.

This report presents the results of a study of the future of electric passenger vehicles. The study involved three tasks: developing models of supply and demand for electric vehicles, and projecting vehicle sales and stock of electric vehicles for the period 1985 to 2000, as well as the impact of these vehicles on utility loads. The supply model which includes an Electric Vehicle Design Model, calculates factors such as weight, battery size, and cost of a vehicle from user-supplied design characteristics. A key variable is the price of electric vehicles over the period 1985 to 2000. The price concept employed here is that of ''full'' price for owning and operating a vehicle. In the next stage of the analysis, calculation of electric vehicle sales and stocks, the ''hedonic'' approach is adopted which states that consumers' demand for a good is a derived demand for a bundle of characteristics (comfort, cost, performance, and the like) provided by the vehicle. Using this approach, a demand model was developed that forecasts the future stock and sales of electric vehicles and their competitors--internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. The final step in the analysis is the calculation of electricity loads and air quality impacts on a national basis for the period 1985 to 2000, and also for New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. By end of the century, the models predict that approximately 141 million passenger vehicles will be on the road, and that 11 to 13 million of these will be electric vehicles, incorporating an advanced battery. This projection, of course, depends on a variety of factors, particularly on the relative full prices of electric and ICE vehicles. (ERA citation 03:052948)

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">The need to control global warming by regulating automotive emission levels has led to a lot of changes in the policies of different countries globally, specifically the United States (US) and the European Union (EU). More recently, the governments have been strongly pushing the integration of Electric Vehicles (EVs) in the market to replace the conventional Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles for CO₂ emissions reduction, with the enforcement of 50% EV sales by 2030 in the US and complete 100% by 2035 in the EU for passenger cars. However, these policies are misleading by considering EVs as zero emission vehicles, as there is no such technology yet available that has zero emissions during its lifecycle. During the manufacturing phase, any vehicle produced gives out emissions, with EVs emitting even higher than the conventional ICE vehicles with their battery manufacturing. Further, during the use phase, there might be no Tank-to-Wheel emissions from the EVs due to zero tailpipe emissions, but they do have very high Well-to-Tank emissions from the electricity generation needed to recharge the batteries. On the other hand, hybridization is also a promising way for CO₂ emissions reduction. Using synthetic e-fuels, hybrids can have emission reductions much higher than using conventional fuels or even when compared to EVs on life cycle basis. Hence, in this study, we have evaluated the life cycle CO₂ emissions reduction potential with electric and e-fueled ICE vehicle as two different cases, varying their sales from 0 to 100%, according to the set EU and US targets, for the total car fleet of both the countries. The evaluation is done with 0D numerical simulations performed on GT suite, for 30 different drive cycles consisting of 10 urban, 10 sub-urban and 10 highway cases with GPS based vehicle speed information, for US as well as EU separately. Results shows that e-fueled ICE and e-fueled hybrid vehicles have greater CO₂ emissions reduction potential than EVs.</div></div>

The global adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is progressing, but a key challenge remains: the tradeoff in driving range and recharging time compared to internal combustion-engine (ICE) vehicles. Typical EVs have a range of around 300 miles under favorable conditions, necessitating longer stops for charging on extended trips. While a 15 to 30-minute charge can provide approximately 200 miles of range, ICE vehicles can refuel to full range in just 5 minutes. This study explores the impact of advanced battery cell chemistries on vehicle battery pack design and charging performance. An optimized battery pack, developed using this approach, can theoretically accept a charge equivalent to 150 miles of energy in under 5 minutes at an average charge rate of +8C. However, there are pack volume and mass penalties relative to the baseline battery pack and reduced overall range due to lower cell energy density. Battery cells with higher energy density can reduce the pack volume and mass but bring challenges for the vehicle’s thermal management system during charging. Additionally, this paper details the development of an experimental battery pack capable of accepting a 1 MW charge at a 7C charge rate. The reconfigurable pack operates at various configurations for propulsion and charging, with features including MCS Charger use. The test platform was designed, fabricated, and integrated into the GM Warren Battery Labs, with hardware, integration, and testing aspects outlined.

Differential license plate pricing and electric vehicle adoption in Shanghai, China

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">The rising demand for electric vehicles (EVs) has pushed automakers to prioritize visual brand consistency across both EVs and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. A main design factor which is influenced by this trend is the front grille. In order to achieve uniform aesthetic looks, passenger car manufacturers often reduce the front grille openings and limit airflow. This closed grille style is common in electric vehicle. However, this creates challenges for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles with snorkel-type air intake systems, leading to reduced airflow and higher temperatures in the engine bay and intake air which eventually gets sucked in the engine resulting in low volumetric efficiency.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">Maintaining a cooler intake air is vital for ICE performance. Adjusting snorkel position and airflow patterns in low temperature zones ensures the engine receives air at low temperatures. This improves the combustion efficiency, throttle response and eventually it reduces the risk of knock. This study emphasizes the need to control intake air temperature in such a way that the air intake system supports to meet performance and emissions targets.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">In our study, we use simulation tools such as computation fluid dynamics (CFD) and experiments in order to demonstrate that the ICE vehicle grille design having restricted air flow which are similar to the electric vehicles, increases the air temperature that enters into the snorkel of air intake system. This pre-heated air that enters into engine reduces its efficiency, power output and also might eventually affect the emissions. The findings in our study quantifies the thermal penalty that are linked to this design standardization.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">In order to overcome these issues, the study recommends tailored front-end module thermal management strategies for ICE vehicles particularly for air intake system. The approach optimizes airflow and minimizes heat gain in snorkel of air intakes and hence preserving engine performance without sacrificing the visual consistency between EV and ICE models.</div></div>

Regional comparison of electric vehicle adoption and emission reduction effects in China

The Aerospace Corporation, in support of the Department of Energy (DOE) Electric Vehicle Project, has undertaken two activities related to defining the possible characteristics of the mid-1980s electric passenger car. The first activity, an investigation of the potential performance and cost characteristics through computer modeling, was supported by the Argonne National Laboratory, General Research Corporation, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and NASA/Lewis Research Center. That investigation was restricted to a 4-passenger, all-electric car similar to the DOE Electric Test Vehicle-One (ETV-1) developed by the General Electric Company and the Chrysler Corporation. The study effort was completed in February 1981. The second effort currently underway is an electric vehicle (EV) applications research study that is part of a government/industry collaborative effort. Based on the computer modeling results, the state of technology for the mid-1980s, 4-passenger electric car could achieve an urban driving range of 80 to 100 miles with acceleration competitive with a comparable-size, diesel-powered car. Top speeds and ramp accelerations compatible with highway driving also appear achievable. These conclusions assume that the batteries being developed through DOE funding--improved lead-acid, zinc/nickel oxide, iron/nickel oxide, and zinc/chloride--will achieve their currently established performance goals in mass production. The purchase price of a 4-passenger electric car with a 100-mile range is projected to be at least 50 percent higher than that of a comparable internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle. However, life-cycle costs for a 4-passenger, 100-mile-range car are predicted to range from slightly lower to moderately higher than those of a comparable ICE vehicle depending on petroleum costs and the cost and cycle life of the batteries. The eventual cost and performance of the mid-1980s electric car will be influenced greatly by the trade-offs associated with battery weight and cost versus vehicle payload and range requirements. In general, cost and performance results tend to indicate the desirability of pursuing the development of a 2-passenger car and/or a less than 100-mile-range car if the market for these types of vehicles appears sufficiently attractive. For the second effort, The Aerospace Corporation will subcontract an electric vehicle applications research study to identify the vehicle attributes most likely to influence consumer purchasing decisions. The Statement of Work for this study was prepared by a Steering Committee composed of representatives of the major domestic automobile manufacturers, the EV supply industry, the electric utility industry, and other interested organizations. As part of this effort, it was necessary to define the characteristics of the mid-1980s electric car and its expected competition in that time frame. Vehicle characteristics were selected based on a consensus of the Steering Committee members. The projected characteristics of the baseline electric car defined by the Steering Committee agree quite closely with those predicted in the modeling work mentioned earlier. For the conduct of the study, it has been predicted that the baseline electric car will achieve a 75-mile range, accelerate somewhat more slowly than a comparable ICE vehicle, and perform satisfactorily on highways. The monthly ownership and operation cost (at current gasoline prices) and purchase price are estimated to be 30 and 50 percent higher, respectively. Assuming a more optimistic battery purchase price and replacement rate, the vehicle monthly cost is predicted to be equal to that of a comparable-size ICE vehicle. Competitive vehicles in the mid-1980s are assumed to be powered by gasoline, diesel, or an alternative fuel such as methanol. The fuel economy of these vehicles in urban driving is estimated to be 40 to 50 mpg, and the acceleration is projected to be similar to or somewhat slower than today's ICE vehicle. It is anticipated that the results of the applications study will help focus future DOE and industry research and development efforts on those areas that will most satisfy consumer needs.

PurposeTo model and analyze the dynamic response of an electric vehicle (EV) suspension system and compare it with a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle, focusing on passenger comfort and safety.Design/methodology/approachBoth vehicles are modeled as quarter car (two DOF for EV) and half car (four DOF for EV and five DOF for ICE). The analysis includes vehicle–road and vehicle–bridge interaction dynamics using MATLAB Simulink and the Runge–Kutta method, incorporating various road profiles and disturbances.FindingsThe EV’s suspension system outperforms the ICE vehicle in ride comfort and road holding across various conditions, with better responses to road disturbances and reduced peak overshoot. These results highlight the advantages of EV designs in enhancing overall vehicle dynamics.Originality/valueThis study makes several novel contributions, including the mathematical modeling of a half-car model for an ICE vehicle that incorporates secondary unbalanced forces of the engine. It also explores a complex vehicle–bridge interaction system, considering both road roughness and sinusoidal bumps. Furthermore, it compares the dynamic responses of an equivalent EV model traversing this complex bridge, with a conventional ICE vehicle, providing new insights into the distinct characteristics of EV suspensions.

A comparative study of energy-efficient driving strategy for connected internal combustion engine and electric vehicles at signalized intersections

Electric vehicle (EV) and driving towards sustainability: Comparison between EV, HEV, PHEV, and ICE vehicles to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 from EV