A US study found that sedans, SUVs, and pickup trucks, accounted for 58% of U.S. transportation sector emissions. Pickup trucks accounted for 14% of light-duty vehicle sales in the United States in 2020, and the market share of both pickups and SUVs has grown in recent years.

As the industry moves towards electrification, what does that mean for pickups and SUV?

University of Michigan and Ford Motor Company conducted the research and found that light-duty, battery-electric vehicles are around 64% less in their cradle-to-grave life cycle greenhouse gas emissions than internal-combustion-engine counterparts.

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“This is an important study to inform and encourage climate action. Our research clearly shows substantial greenhouse gas emission reductions that can be achieved from transitioning to electrified powertrains across all vehicle classes,” said study senior author Greg Keoleian, a professor at the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability and director of the U-M Center for Sustainable Systems.

“This study can help us to understand the potential impact of electrification from an emissions-reduction perspective, particularly as we introduce new electric vehicles, and how we can continue to accelerate our progress towards carbon neutrality. We’re proud to partner with U-M in this critical work,” said Cynthia Williams, global director of sustainability, homologation and compliance at Ford.

Although the study found battery-electric vehicles have more greenhouse gas emissions during manufacture, due to battery production, their operational life emitted vastly less emissions than the ICE siblings.

For battery-electric vehicles and internal-combustion-engine vehicles, the breakeven time is 1.2 to 1.3 years for sedans, 1.4 to 1.6 years for SUVs, and 1.3 years for pickup trucks, based on the average U.S. grid and vehicle miles traveled.

Claims that battery-electric vehicles have higher emissions than internal-combustion-engine vehicles or hybrids are largely unfounded, as battery-electric vehicles outperform hybrids in 95% to 96% of counties, while battery-electric vehicles outperform internal-combustion-engine vehicles in 98% to 99% of counties, even assuming only modest progress towards grid decarbonization.

Charging timing can reduce greenhouse gas emissions further. For example, when there is the lowest grid emission intensity can reduce emissions by 11% on average. The study went on to find that the deployment of electric vehicles supported by renewable energy expansion would be mutually beneficial.

The answer to the question of emissions reductions is clear. Claims that EVs cause greater emissions is unfounded.

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