Life-Cycle Comparison of Hybrid
and Conventional Vehicles
Asako Helene Bliek, Wai-Ting Kang, Jonathon Glenn Lau, Jaewook Yang,
John Weir, Ken Brown
Abstract
A comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of hybrid
and conventional vehicles was conducted to evaluate and
compare the energy consumption of the differential
components between the two vehicle types. The full hybrid,
Toyota Prius II and the conventional vehicle, Toyota
Camry were investigated and used for comparison in this
study.
The energy consumed in each of the phases in the
vehicle cycle was evaluated: the manufacturing, use and
end-of-life phases.
The results indicate that hybrid vehicles are a safe
solution to societys growing sustainability concerns since
the Prius total energy consumption over its whole life
cycle is on average 50% less than the Camry irrespective
of the drive cycle and vehicle life. This is due to the Prius
significantly lower fuel consumption in the use phase that
largely determines the overall conclusion.
Keywords
Energy, Hybrid vehicle, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
I. LIFE-CYCLE ENERGY ASSESSMENT OF HYBRID AND
CONVENTIONAL VEHICLES
This study uses a comparative Life Cycle Assessment
(LCA) to estimate the energy consumption of the
differentiating components between hybrid and conventional
vehicle types during its manufacturing, use and end-of-life
phases.
II. INTRODUCTION
Due to the changing global climate, the international
community poses a challenge on its manufacturing and
transport industries to reduce their energy consumption and
CO2 emissions. In response to this, automotive companies are
continually working towards decreasing their environmental
impact by designing and producing more fuel-efficient
green cars.
Utilising an electric propulsion system powered by batteries
to consume less fuel than their conventional (diesel or petrol)
counterparts, hybrid vehicles are amongst the most popular
green cars in the market. As one of the leaders in hybrid
technology, Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan has
successfully established the 2nd generation Prius as the most
popular ultra low-emission Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV)
today. By combining a smaller yet highly efficient Atkinson-
cycle gasoline engine with an electric motor, generator, and
battery in its Toyota Hybrid System powertrain, the Prius is
able to achieve better fuel economy and less CO2 emissions
than most conventional cars [1].
Although literature has cited the potential environmental
benefits of hybrid vehicle technology, there has been some
speculation that the high market price for hybrid cars indicates
higher embodied energy in vehicle manufacture. Within the
use phase, that is, the consumer driving life, the advantages of
increased fuel efficiency and reduced greenhouse gas
emissions is qualitatively obvious. However, there is a cause
for concern that the environmental impacts associated with the
production and disposal phase would negate the benefits from
hybrid technology overall.
This study aims to address this concern and show evidence
to validate the environmental claims made by hybrid vehicle
manufacturers. Using the well established methods of Life
Cycle Assessment (LCA), this study will examine the
environmental impacts associated with hybrid vehicles
compared to conventional vehicles. The comparative approach
of LCA will estimate the energy consumption of the
differentiating components between these vehicle types during
its manufacturing, user and end-of-life phases.
III. LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a globally established
methodology that still continues to develop today with the
growth of environmental awareness and greater demand to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In ISO 14040 LCA is
defined as the compilation and evaluation of the inputs,
outputs and the potential environmental impacts of a product
system throughout its life cycle. LCA is a tool to analyse the
environmental impacts at all stages of a products life cycle
from raw material acquisition through production, use, end-of-
life treatment, recycling and final disposal.
The LCA framework set in the ISO divides the method into
four phases:
1. Goal and Scope Definition
This phase outlines the overall objects for the products
under assessment. System boundaries and environmental
parameters are established.
2. Life Cycle Inventory (LCI)
Extensive data collection is carried out. The inputs and
outputs involving the product are carefully measured and
quantified.
3. Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA)
Thorough analysis is performed including
categorisation and classification of the inventory data.
The data is then aggregated, normalised and weighted.
4. Interpretation
The results of an LCI or LCIA are summarised and
discussed as a basis for conclusions, recommendations
and decision-making in accordance with the goal and
scope definition.
In order to validly compare hybrid and conventional
technologies, an assessment of the different systems over their
entire life cycle would provide a more holistic view.
Therefore, the use of LCA with its encompassing approach
appears to be the most appropriate instrument to address the
topic of this study.
However, due to limitations faced in resources, this study
has conducted a simplified LCA. A simplified LCA
superficially covers whole life cycle using generic data when
required, and focuses on the most important environmental
aspects and phases of the life cycle. The aim is to provide
similar results as a detailed LCA but with fewer resources.
This study focuses on conducting a Life Cycle Inventory
study (LCI) rather than a full LCA, by omitting the Life Cycle
Impact Assessment phase (LCIA). This follows from the
decision to conduct a simplified LCA. Therefore, the LCA
framework for this study will have three phases: Goal and
Scope definition, LCI and Interpretation.
IV. COMPARATIVE LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT
The primary intent of this study is to provide a
comparative assertion for two different products fulfilling
the same function, in this case, seeing whether one vehicle
type is equal or superior to the other.
In order to simplify the comparison process, similar and
common subsystems and components in the two vehicle types
are identified and then omitted in the LCA. For example, the
interior features of the hybrid vehicle and conventional vehicle
are classified as a common subsystem as it is not unique to the
vehicle technology i.e. the two types of cars can both have
the same interior without the functionality of the vehicle
changing. This method ensures that the focus on the LCA is
on conducting analysis between the differentiating features
between hybrid vehicle technology and conventional vehicles.
Thus, the study will draw conclusions based only on the
fundamental differences between the two vehicle systems.
The components considered in this study are as follows:
Hybrid Vehicle Conventional Vehicle
Engine Engine
Hybrid Transmission Automatic Transmission
Electric Motor [MG2] Starter
Generator [MG1] Alternator
Hybrid Battery
Inverter
The decision to study a particular component is not only
based on the importance of their function in the use phase, but
also their significance in terms of manufacture and
recyclability.
Although this comparative method is specific to the chosen
vehicles models for the study, it aims to reach a conclusion
that one type of vehicle technology is better than the other
rather than an assessment of just the model types in question.
Product System
Differential components between a hybrid vehicle and a
conventional vehicle are the main focus of study for the LCA.
The research focused on the differences between these two
vehicle types.
Hybrid Vehicle: 2nd generation Toyota Prius
Conventional Vehicle: 7th generation Toyota Camry
Functional Unit
The functional unit is the central core of any life cycle
assessment; since it provides the reference to which all other
data in the reference is compared.
The main purpose of a vehicle is to transport passengers
from one place to another. Thus, the functional unit in this
study is defined as a mid-sized five-door vehicle for 5
passengers including a luggage compartment with a life of
250,000 km. This description of the product will act as a
reference unit for comparison.
System Boundaries
The total life cycle of a vehicle is defined here to include
the steps required to manufacture, operate and maintain the
vehicle throughout its life and finally to the end-of-life phase.
Vehicle life-cycle phases considered in study:
Manufacturing Phase
Vehicle Use (including Maintenance)
Vehicle End-of-Life
V. HYBRID VEHICLE
A hybrid vehicle (HV) uses two motive power sources, an
internal combustion engine and an electric motor. This
technology combines the strengths of both electric vehicles
(EV) and conventional vehicles (CV), while compensating for
the shortcomings and limitations of each. It is therefore able to
achieve a more efficient and sustainable driving performance.
The main characteristics of the HV are as follows:
When not in use, the engine is
Energy Loss Reduction automatically stopped to prevent
the loss of energy.
Energy that is lost to friction
during deceleration and braking is
Energy Recovery and
recovered as electrical energy for
Re-use
re-use in the starter and the
electric motor.
The presence of the electric motor
gives the engine additional boosts
Lower Fuel of power during acceleration.
Consumption This allows a smaller engine to be
used, significantly reducing fuel
consumption.
 Overall efficiency is optimised by
running the vehicle on the electric
Energy Efficient
motor when engine efficiency is
Performance
low and by generating electricity
when engine efficiency is high.
Currently, there are three different types of hybrid vehicles
on the market: parallel hybrids, series hybrids and combined
hybrids. All these designs lead to lower fuel consumption and
lower running cost compared to a conventional car of the same
size.
Toyota Prius II (Australia)
The Toyota Prius combined hybrid system is popularly
known as Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD) [1]. It uses a gasoline
engine and an electric motor as its motive power sources. The
other components in its powertrain are the generator, nickel-
metal hydride (Ni-MH) battery, power split device, reduction
gear and power control unit (inverter). The power split device
and reduction gear are also part of the hybrid transmission.
Hybrid powertrains save fuel when it comes to both driving
in the city (urban) and in regional areas or highways (extra-
urban). In the low-speed and repeated stop-and-go
environment of city driving, it saves energy by running mostly
on the motor and battery. On the other hand, it is powered by
both the engine and electric motor during highway driving.
The presence of the electric motor allows it to use a smaller
engine and reduce fuel consumption without compromising
driving performance. Since the calorific value of fuel is high
and the distance travelled during a vehicles life spans over a
hundred thousand kilometres, lower fuel consumption leads to
a tremendous amount of energy saved during the use phase.
VI. DIFFERENTIAL COMPONENTS
Components of Toyota Prius
The 1.5 L engine (smaller than
Camry) is the primary motive power
source of the Hybrid Vehicle [1]. The
Engine
Prius smaller engine is possible with
the additional power from the motor,
generator and battery [2].
The Prius has adopted nickel metal
hydride (NiMH) as its battery. The
main function of the battery is to
supply electric power to the motor
Hybrid Battery and generator during starting-off,
acceleration and uphill driving. It is
also recharged during deceleration
and braking, and when engine
efficiency is low [1].
The electric motor is the electric
motive power source of the Prius. It
utilises electric energy from the
Motor [MG2] battery and generator to drive the
vehicle. During regenerative braking,
it acts as a generator by recovering
the kinetic energy loss to friction and
converting it to electricity for storage
in the battery. [2]
The main purpose of the generator is
to convert mechanical engine power
to electricity for use in the motor and
Generator [MG1]
storage in the battery. During initial
acceleration from start-up, it acts as
starter motor to start the engine. [2]
The Prius hybrid transmission is part
of the hybrid transaxle, which also
consists of the motor and generator.
[1] Consisting of the power split
device and reduction gears, it is a
Hybrid Transmission
continuously variable transmission
(CVT) [2]. Therefore, it is able to
provide better fuel economy by
allowing the engine to run at the most
efficient rotational speeds [3].
The Inverter, also known as the
Power Control Unit (PCU), is the
power manager of Prius electric
drive system. It regulates the power
Inverter
between battery, generator, motor and
engine. It also contains the
electronics for controlling the motor
and generator [1].
Components of Toyota Camry
The 2.4 L engine (larger than Prius)
Engine is the primary motive power source
of Conventional Vehicle [4].
The Camry automatic transmission
Automatic is a compact, lightweight and 5-
Transmission speed electronically controlled
transmission. [5]
The Camrys starter is an electric
motor and its main function is to
Starter start the engine by using electric
motor and disengage as soon as the
engine starts [6].
The alternators main function is to
generate and supply electricity for
Alternator use in the Camrys electrical system
and for storage in the auxiliary
battery [7].
VII. ENERGY EQUATIONS
To conduct the LCI analysis, the total energy consumption
of a vehicle throughout its whole life cycle must be calculated.
Total energy consumption is a sum of
Embodied energy in the manufacturing phase
Energy consumed during the use phase and the
Embodied energy of the components that are replaced
Embodied energy for recycling
 End of Life (Table 4)
Manufacturing Phase Energy consumption of Prius slightly higher than Camry
Total E.E for Manufacturing
= material The Prius requires slightly more energy to recycle for all
material
recycling percentages considered. This is despite the previous
+ material (1)
observation that there is a larger amount of aluminium used in
the Camrys differential components. The main reason for this
result is due to the additional powertrain components
Use Phase considered in the Prius. Furthermore, for longer vehicle life,
The amount of energy consumed during operation can be the energy consumed in recycling the Prius replacement
obtained from the fuel consumption data. battery is also significantly higher than the recycling energy
for the Camrys replacement starters and alternators.
Total E.E for Maintenance
= . Overall Result
Energy consumption of Prius lower than Camry
= (# ( ) .
) (2) As the overall energy consumption is largely determined by
the use phase, the life cycle energy comparison between the
Prius and Camry is straightforward (Error! Reference source
Vehicle End-of-Life not found. and Figure 2). Due to its low fuel consumption, the
Total E.E for Recycling Prius fares much better than the Camry in the use phase
(Figure 3). The Camrys total energy consumption over its
whole life cycle is about 1.4-2.4 times the total energy
= ( %) recyclable material consumption of the Prius depending on the drive cycle and
material (3) vehicle life. Therefore, it can be concluded that hybrids are
more environmentally friendly in terms of energy
consumption than conventional vehicles based on the
VIII. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION differential components and vehicle models considered.
Manufacturing Phase (Table 1) The overall conclusion is less sensitive to changes in the
Energy consumption of Prius slightly lower than Camry energy consumption in the manufacturing and end-of-life
phases. Variations in the input parameters such as the
This is an unexpected result as the Prius has additional embodied energy coefficients, the amount of rare earth metals
powertrain components and uses more rare earth metals. in the hybrid battery and the number of battery replacements
Further investigation of the inventory shows that the main over the vehicles life have impact on the manufacturing and
contributing factor to this result is the large amount of energy end-of-life phases energy comparison but have small influence
intensive aluminium used in the Camrys engine and on the final result. This is mainly because the overall
automatic transmission. conclusion is more dependent on the vehicles fuel
consumption, fuel calorific value, drive cycle and vehicle life
Use Phase (Table 2 and 3) than any of the other input parameters.
Energy consumption of Prius significantly lower than
Camry Manufacturing Use Maintenance Recycling
This result is due to the difference in fuel consumption
Vehicle Life (km)

between the two vehicles. The energy consumed due to the 400,000
fuel consumption of the Prius is on average half the Camry for
all vehicle life and drive cycles considered. The energy
consumption for operating either of the vehicles in the use 250,000
phase is at least 4 times their total manufacturing energy.
However, despite the lower fuel consumption, a
100,000
disadvantage of the Prius compared to the Camry occurs
during the maintenance of the vehicle because its hybrid
battery needs to be replaced if the vehicle experiences a longer 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
life, but has a significantly higher embodied energy compared Total Life Cycle Energy Consumption (TJ)
to the Camrys replacement of its starter and alternator.

Figure 1: Total life cycle energy consumption Vs Vehicle Life

graph for Prius
 US 100,000 145,517.76 224,603.51
Manufacturing Use Maintenance Recycling
extra- 250,000 363,794.41 561,508.77
urban 400,000 582,071.06 898,414.02
400,000
Vehicle Life (km)

100,000 136,027.48 275,218.38

US
250,000 340,068.69 688,045.95
250,000 combined
400,000 544,109.90 1,100,873.52

100,000 Table 3: Maintenance Energy

Vehicle Life Maintenance Maintenance
(km) Energy (MJ) Energy (MJ)
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
Total Life Cycle Energy Consumption (TJ) 100,000 0.00 0.00
250,000 0.00 543.59
Figure 2: Total life cycle energy consumption Vs Vehicle Life
400,000 5,457.05 1,087.18
graph for Camry

Table 4: End-of-Life Recycling Energy

Camry Prius Prius Camry
Recycling Vehicle
Recycling Recycling
Percentage Life (km)
Energy (MJ) Energy (MJ)
Vehicle Life (km)

400,000 0% 250,000 0.00 0.00

100,000 0.00 0.00
250,000 CES 250,000 0.00 2.43
400,000 138.06 4.86
100,000 75% 250,000 0.00 4.35
100% 250,000 0.00 5.80
0.0 0.3 0.5 0.8 1.0 1.3 1.5
Total Life Cycle Energy Consumption (TJ) Influence of the Fuel Consumption
In this study, the vehicles fuel consumption for different
Figure 3: Total life cycle energy consumption Vs Vehicle life drive cycles and vehicle life is used to represent the energy
(combined driving for Prius and Camry) consumed by the differential components in the use phase.
The impact of the vehicles fuel consumption during the use
phase largely determines the overall result when comparing
Table 1: Manufacturing Phase Energy the total energy consumption between the Prius and Camry
Prius Camry over their whole life cycle. The fuel consumption data for the
Vehicle Life (km) Manufacturing Manufacturing vehicles depend on the drive cycles and vehicle life. They vary
Energy (MJ) Energy (MJ) slightly between Australia and US due to the different vehicle
100,000 30,247.33 31,089.92 testing standards used.
For the Prius, the energy consumption in the use phase can
250,000 30,247.33 31,089.92 be as high as 20 times the total manufacturing energy, whereas
400,000 30,247.33 31,089.92 for the Camry it can be as high as 44 times the total
manufacturing energy, depending on the combination of the
Table 2: Use Phase Energy vehicle life and drive cycle.
Use Phase Use Phase
Drive Influence of the use of Rare Metals
Vehicle Life (km) Energy Energy
Cycle The use of rare earth metals such as lanthanum, neodymium
(MJ) (MJ)
100,000 150,480 338,580 and cerium in the Prius hybrid battery are important input
AU parameters that have a significant impact on the total
250,000 376,200 846,450 embodied energy consumed in the manufacturing phase. This
combined
400,000 601,920 1,354,320 is because they require large amounts of embodied energy
100,000 123,373.76 310,016.11 during the primary material production, i.e. the embodied
US energy coefficient for these rare metals can be as high as 27
250,000 308,434.39 775,040.27 times the embodied energy coefficient for normal low carbon
urban
400,000 493,495.03 1,240,064.43 steel.
 If the amount of rare earth metals used in the Prius hybrid
battery is higher than the original reference case considered,
e.g. 20kg instead of 2.5kg, it would increase the
manufacturing energy of the battery by roughly a factor of 3.
This would push up the Prius total manufacturing energy by
about 37%. If this is the case, then the effect is large enough to
result in the Camry having a lower total manufacturing energy
than the Prius due to the proximity of breaking even in the
original reference case manufacturing phase energy
comparison. Despite this, the overall conclusion will remain
true since the large energy consumption in the use phase
significantly outweighs the impact of the manufacturing
energy.
Influence of the use of Aluminium
The use of aluminium in the differential components has a
significant effect on the embodied energy in the
manufacturing and recycling phases.
In the manufacturing phase energy comparison, the large
amount of aluminium used in the Camrys engine and
automatic transmission outweighs the effects of the Prius
higher total differential components mass and use of rare
metal materials. Therefore, the Prius consumes slightly less
embodied energy than the Camry in the manufacturing phase
since aluminium makes up nearly 50% of the total mass of the
differential components for the Camry. Aluminium is well
known for being energy intensive because it requires large
amounts of embodied energy during the primary materials
production, i.e. the embodied energy coefficient for
aluminium is about 7 times the embodied energy coefficient
for normal low carbon steel.
Besides being energy intensive in the manufacturing phase,
aluminium also requires more recycling energy relative to the
other metals such as steel and iron, i.e. the recycling embodied
energy coefficient for aluminium is roughly 2 times the
recycling embodied energy coefficient for normal low carbon
steel and is about 3.6 times the recycling embodied energy
coefficient for cast iron.
Influence of the Hybrid Battery Replacements
The replacement of the hybrid battery in the Prius is the
main contributor of the energy consumption in the
maintenance of the vehicle throughout its whole life.
If the number of battery replacements is higher than the
considered reference case, e.g. 5 battery replacements over a
vehicle life of 400,00km instead of only 1 battery
replacement, it would slightly increase the Prius maintenance
energy in the use phase and the end-of-life recycling energy.
This will only have a slight effect on the use phase and end-
of-life energy comparison by making the energy consumption
difference between the Prius and Camry more obvious.
However, this will have little influence on the overall
conclusion.
IX. CONCLUSION
The overall energy consumption comparison between the
Prius and Camry based on the differential components over
their whole life cycle found that full hybrids are more
environmentally friendly than conventional vehicles in terms
of energy consumption. This is because the large energy
consumed in the use phase based on the vehicles fuel
consumption largely determines the final result. As such, the
overall conclusion is less sensitive to changes in the energy
consumption in the manufacturing phase and at the end-of-life.
The Toyota Prius fares much better than the Camry in the use
phase since it has significantly lower fuel consumption, i.e. the
fuel consumption of the Prius is about half of the Camry for
all vehicle life and drive cycles considered. As a result of this,
the Camrys overall energy consumption over its whole life
cycle is roughly 1.4-2.4 times the total energy consumption of
the Prius depending on the drive cycle and vehicle life
considered.
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