Total Cost of Ownership as a Sustainability Indicator to Evaluate Environmental and Economic Performance of Sustainable Lightweight Vehicles

Abstract The adoption of new vehicle technologies such as electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles has put more pressure on gasoline vehicles to become more efficient and eco-friendly. Many future buyers find themselves in a grey area and may be unsure what drivetrain saves them the most over the long run. In this paper, we will unveil the total cost of ownership (TCO) for several mid-size sedan cars including conventional gasoline-powered cars, and electric vehicles (xEV) with an autobody that is made from lightweight materials (steel, AHSS, aluminum, magnesium, GFRP, and CFRP). The developed TCO model in this study helps unveil the cost associated with owning lightweight vehicles with different drivetrains using unbiased analysis of the vehicle’s total life from cradle to grave and fuel lifecycle from well to wheel. From the TCO perspective, hybrid electric vehicles seem to be the most competitive drivetrain if we use the U.S. national average numbers. TCO results vary in each state depending on the source of the electricity, the social cost of carbon, and the average driven mile in that state. Comparison between different lightweight materials shows that vehicles made from AHSS can easily break even with vehicles made from conventional dual-phase steel. Saved weight will reduce energy consumption in the vehicles’ use phase and reduce amounts of GHG emissions, without a noticeable increase in maintenance and insurance costs. However, other lightweight materials seem far from being able to breakeven with conventional dual-phase steel unless we can see higher prices of gasoline and electricity.