The objective of the study is to compare the externalities generated by different engines of an average private passenger car over the entire life cycle. The comparison includes the electric, gasoline, and diesel engines of an average car (VW Golf). It offers interesting insights to decision makers seeking to identify policy tools aimed on the one hand at reducing the environmental impacts of private transport and on the other at fulfilling international commitments.

Indeed, summary information is provided with respect to the environmental performance of vehicles, quantified in terms of external costs and linked to their location. In the present study, we show how it is possible to use the assessment of external costs as an indicator of environmental impact by applying damage factors to LCI inventory flows. Applied to the context of mobility in Italy, the methodology leads to the conclusion that, in the engine comparison made, the electric version produces lower overall external costs (12.07 €/1000km), i.e., summing the effects of pollution and greenhouse effect. The worst performance is observed for the diesel vehicle 24.25 €/1000, mainly due to very high NOx emissions during use. The external costs of the gasoline version are 21.30 €/1000 km.