This work presents the development of a user-oriented software tool for the cradle-to-grave Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of passenger cars, enabling robust comparisons of greenhouse gas emissions across heterogeneous vehicle configurations. The tool supports informed decision-making by quantifying and visualizing environmental impacts associated with alternative mobility choices over the full vehicle life cycle, including production, use, maintenance, and end-of-life stages.
The proposed framework allows key parameters describing both the vehicle and its usage to be explicitly defined, including powertrain type, dimensions and weight, ownership profile (new or second-hand vehicles, partial ownership periods, leasing scenarios), annual mileage, vehicle lifetime assumptions, and the carbon intensity of fuels or electricity sources. Country-specific energy mixes are incorporated, enabling the same vehicle to be assessed under different geographic contexts and highlighting the strong dependence of use-phase emissions on local energy systems. Results are reported both as total life-cycle emissions and as a phase-resolved breakdown, improving transparency and supporting a clear interpretation of trade-offs between production, operation, maintenance, and end-of-life stages.
Representative scenarios demonstrate that, under a standard European context, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) achieve a reduction of approximately 32% in yearly greenhouse gas emissions compared to a baseline Euro 5 gasoline vehicle. However, this trend reverses for low-mileage users relying on second-hand vehicles, for which emissions can increase by about 15%, emphasizing the critical role of usage patterns and ownership strategies in determining environmental benefits.
The tool is designed to accommodate updated datasets, emission factors, and evolving energy scenarios, ensuring long-term applicability and enabling forward-looking analyses. Its capabilities are demonstrated across scenarios covering short- and long-term usage, multiple national contexts, and different powertrain technologies. The result is a robust and transparent assessment platform that enables users and policymakers to evaluate vehicle replacement strategies, providing quantitative insights into the interplay between technology, usage, and sustainability in mobility transitions.