Total cost of ownership and externalities of conventional, hybrid and electric vehicle

While decision makers support the promotion of advanced vehicle types, and incentives are provided to consumers to own and use cleaner vehicles, policies barely rely on the life cycle impacts of transportation vehicles. The increasing number of alternative fuel vehicles urges policy makers to consider life cycle impacts and support dynamic policies to benefit users of cleaner vehicles. To improve the effectiveness of transportation policies a life cycle cost method is created that responds to various vehicle fuels and technologies. A method is developed that integrates indirect costs (externalities), including emissions (i.e., global and local air pollution) and time losses with direct total cost of ownership. Life cycle emissions and time losses are converted into costs for three representative urban light duty vehicles: internal combustion, hybrid and electric vehicle. The results, which are based on vehicle technology characteristics and transportation impacts on environment, facilitate vehicle comparisons and support policy making in transportation.