Vehicle Cycle Energy and Carbon Dioxide Analysis of Passenger Car in China

This study is aiming to assess the primary energy consumption, and the energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in vehicle cycle for a China passenger car powered by internal combustion engine. Meanwhile, this analysis concerns about the share of coal demand in the total primary energy use. The results show that the vehicle cycle energy consumption and CO2 emissions of a China passenger car are about 91.13 GJ and 11.13 ton per vehicle, respectively. And coal accounting for about 84.5% of the vehicle cycle primary energy consumption is the key contributor to the CO2 emissions in China. The processes of material production and vehicle assembly account for most of the vehicle cycle energy use and CO2 emissions. There are four ways to reduce vehicle cycle environmental impacts: use clean energy, lower the weight of the vehicle under the condition of ensuring vehicle performance, adopt low energy-intensive and low emission-intensive materials in vehicle, and develop advanced vehicle propulsion systems.