Total Cost of Ownership of Sustainable Lightweight Vehicles with Conventional and Electric Drivetrains

Abstract

In today's competition between gasoline and electric-operated vehicles, many people find themselves in a grey area in which the 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 (EV). Several combinations of drivetrains (internal combustion engine, electric drivetrain, and hybrid drivetrains) and 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 that covers materials and manufacturing cost, use phase cost, operation and maintenance (O&M), end-of-life cost, the social cost of emissions that affect human health and carbon cost for the amount of emitted greenhouse gases over vehicle's total lifetime from cradle to grave and fuel lifecycle from well to wheel. TCO model results favored hybrid vehicles depending on the national average conditions of the U.S, but when we have a closer look at each state, results will vary depending on the source of the electricity, social cost of air pollution as determined by EASIUR 'Estimating Air pollution Social Impact Using Regression' model, and the average driven mile in each state.

Date of Award	Jul 2022
Original language	American English