This work presents the development of a flexible and 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.
A key contribution of the proposed framework is its high degree of configurability and readability. All parameters describing the vehicle and its usage can be freely modified, 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 explicitly considered, allowing the same vehicle to be evaluated under different geographic contexts and highlighting the strong dependency of use-phase emissions on local energy systems. Moreover, results are reported both as total life-cycle emissions and as a phase-resolved breakdown, improving transparency and interpretability. This visualization supports a clearer understanding of trade-offs between production impacts, operational efficiency, maintenance, and end-of-life burdens.
All datasets and emission factors are fully customizable, allowing continuous updates as new LCA data, regulatory targets, or energy scenarios become available. This design ensures long-term reusability and enables forward-looking analyses in which anticipated technological improvements or energy-mix evolutions can be incorporated to guide future vehicle adoption strategies.
The capabilities and reliability of the tool are demonstrated through representative scenarios covering short- and long-term usage, multiple national contexts, and different powertrain technologies. The result is a flexible yet robust assessment platform that enables users and policymakers to quantify the environmental impact of vehicle replacement strategies, providing critical insights into the role of vehicle longevity and individual usage patterns in sustainable mobility transitions.