A first-of-its-kind cradle-to-grave Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study by the University of Michigan and Ford, spanning vehicle types, classes, regions, and usage patterns, shows once again that battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) are always the greener choice when comparing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. No matter where you live in the US.
Across regions and methods worldwide, recent similar studies consistently find the same thing: BEVs have the lowest cradle-to-grave GHGs compared to ICE, HEV, and PHEV. How much lower depends on the grid and real-world use. Switching from an ICE pickup to a compact BEV can reach an 83% reduction, for instance.
Ford directly involved
Life Cycle Assessment (or cradle-to-grave analysis) is a standardized scientific method (ISO 14040/44) for evaluating the total environmental impacts of a product or system throughout its entire life cycle, not just during use.
The research team of the University of Michigan included Hyung Chul Kim, a research scientist at Ford, among the contributors. This indicates that Ford was directly involved in the analysis and development of the study.
And as the F-150 – one of the worst-performing vehicle classes in the study – contributes alone around 90% of Ford’s global profits, it matters. On a US–average basis, an F-150 Lightning (BEV) emits about a quarter of a gasoline F-150’s cradle-to-grave GHG per mile.
Who frames the narrative?
Oil companies and their trade associations, like the American Petroleum Institute, and similar in Europe or Canada, often fund reports or ad campaigns suggesting EVs are not cleaner when you count mining and electricity.
Until recently, legacy automakers (Ford, GM, Toyota, etc.) sometimes downplayed EV climate benefits to slow regulation, using tactics like so-called “technology neutrality” arguments to let hybrids or efficient ICE count as equally green, or highlighting manufacturing emissions of batteries.
Some conservative or skeptical media like Fox News in the US, or the Daily Mail in the UK ran headlines like “EVs worse for the planet than gas cars”.
Often, these rely on outdated studies, like early 2010s Chinese grid LCAs with mostly coal-fired power plants. Or they cherry-pick numbers, experts say, ignoring things like grid decarbonization or lifetime mileage.
Adding practical nuance
However, the University of Michigan’s study conclusions, based on comparisons across 35 different combinations of vehicle class and powertrains, align once again with the international literature: BEVs are the lowest-emitting across contexts.
And it adds practical nuance like driver behavior, cargo or towing load, vehicle class, US county-level grids and how electricity is produced, which many other national or regional LCAs omit.
Lifetime mileage in this study means on average 239,000 miles (384,000 km) for pickups, 219,000 to 225,000 miles (352,000 to 362,000 km) for SUVs (midsize/small), and 191,000 to 196,000 miles (307,000 to 315,000 km) for sedans (midsize/compact):
Key insights show BEVs outperform all other powertrains in every U.S. county for lifetime GHG emissions. A 300-mile (483 km) range BEV emits 31 to 36% less than a 50-mile PHEV, 63 to 65% less than an HEV, and 71 to 73% less than an ICEV.
Pickups, popular in the US, are the worst when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions at 486 g CO₂e/mile. Switching from a pickup to a compact ICEV reduces emissions by roughly 34%. The maximum overall reduction potential from ICE pickup to compact BEV can reach 83%. The lowest impact (cleanest) is a compact BEV sedan at approximately 81 g CO₂e/mile or under 20% of a gasoline pickup’s emission.
Electrification’s benefits vary by grid carbon intensity (how the electricity is produced) and ambient temperature. In low-carbon-grid areas like Valley County, MT (US), a BEV pickup with a range of 200 miles (322 km) is 90% lower than an ICE pickup and a compact electric sedan 92% lower. Even in high-carbon-grid regions like Apache County, AZ this BEV200 pickup shows 40% lower emissions and the compact BEV 61% lower.
The study also zoomed in on cargo load effects. Carrying 2,500 lb (1,134 kg) in a BEV pickup truck raises emissions by 13 to 14%, in an ICE pickup truck the emissions increase by 22% (from 486 to 591 g CO₂e/mile).
Bottom line: always greener
Worldwide, the scientific consensus is clear: EVs pollute less overall, and the gap will widen as grids decarbonize. When scraping the internet for other studies, it shows every major cradle-to-grave study in the last 5–7 years (U.S., EU, China, India, Brazil) concludes BEVs have significantly lower lifetime GHGs than ICE.
And that’s even in countries with coal-heavy grids like India which is still roughly 70% on coal power. EVs are already competitive in many states, but in coal-intense ones they can have higher life-cycle CO₂ than hybrids.
The Michigan study checked every US county, even in the most coal-heavy ones like Apache County, Arizona, where EVs still beat ICE, but just by a smaller margin being roughly 40% lower versus 70% in the national average.
