IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i14p8443-d859750.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Aging Passenger Car Fleet Structure, Dynamics, and Environmental Performance Evaluation at the Regional Level by Life Cycle Assessment

Author

Listed:
  • George Barjoveanu

    (Department of Environmental Engineering and Management, “Cristofor Simionescu” Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Protection, “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, 73 Bd. Mangeron, 700050 Iasi, Romania)

  • Florenta Dinita

    (Department of Environmental Engineering and Management, “Cristofor Simionescu” Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Protection, “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, 73 Bd. Mangeron, 700050 Iasi, Romania)

  • Carmen Teodosiu

    (Department of Environmental Engineering and Management, “Cristofor Simionescu” Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Protection, “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, 73 Bd. Mangeron, 700050 Iasi, Romania)

Abstract

The need to limit climate change and to improve air quality clearly is a driver for technology and policy changes in the transport sector. This study investigates how this technology shift at the European level ages personal car fleets at the regional level in Romania through second-hand imports. It also asks what how the situation will evolve in terms of environmental impacts. The study presents an in-depth assessment of the environmental performance and evolution of the passenger car fleet in Iasi County (Romania). The analysis is based on the car fleet structure and dynamic statistics, and uses the Copert 5.5 model to estimate the specific use-phase emissions, which subsequently are used as input data into an LCA analysis. The study considers three scenarios regarding fleet evolution and environmental performance, and focuses solely on the use phase of passenger cars. It models exhaust emissions in various driving situations (rural, urban, hot-cold operation, and peak-offpeak traffic values) and considers the current environmental performance classes and age of vehicles in the fleet. The results show that by considering these vehicle performance aspects, impacts are better represented. The no-change scenario would lead to a 2.5 times increase of global warming impacts by 2035 as compared to 2020, while by limiting the import of used cars and increasing the share of electric and hybrid vehicles would lead to mitigating these impacts.

Suggested Citation

  • George Barjoveanu & Florenta Dinita & Carmen Teodosiu, 2022. "Aging Passenger Car Fleet Structure, Dynamics, and Environmental Performance Evaluation at the Regional Level by Life Cycle Assessment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-18, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:14:p:8443-:d:859750
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/14/8443/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/14/8443/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nils Hooftman & Luis Oliveira & Maarten Messagie & Thierry Coosemans & Joeri Van Mierlo, 2016. "Environmental Analysis of Petrol, Diesel and Electric Passenger Cars in a Belgian Urban Setting," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-24, January.
    2. Yang, Zijun & Wang, Bowen & Jiao, Kui, 2020. "Life cycle assessment of fuel cell, electric and internal combustion engine vehicles under different fuel scenarios and driving mileages in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    3. Izaskun Alvarez-Meaza & Enara Zarrabeitia-Bilbao & Rosa Maria Rio-Belver & Gaizka Garechana-Anacabe, 2020. "Fuel-Cell Electric Vehicles: Plotting a Scientific and Technological Knowledge Map," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-25, March.
    4. Siqin Xiong & Junping Ji & Xiaoming Ma, 2019. "Comparative Life Cycle Energy and GHG Emission Analysis for BEVs and PhEVs: A Case Study in China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-17, March.
    5. Ren, Lei & Zhou, Sheng & Ou, Xunmin, 2020. "Life-cycle energy consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions of hydrogen supply chains for fuel-cell vehicles in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    6. Hjelkrem, Odd André & Arnesen, Petter & Aarseth Bø, Torstein & Sondell, Rebecka Snefuglli, 2020. "Estimation of tank-to-wheel efficiency functions based on type approval data," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    7. Buberger, Johannes & Kersten, Anton & Kuder, Manuel & Eckerle, Richard & Weyh, Thomas & Thiringer, Torbjörn, 2022. "Total CO2-equivalent life-cycle emissions from commercially available passenger cars," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Florenta Dinita & George Barjoveanu & Carmen Teodosiu, 2025. "An Environmental Life-Cycle Assessment of End-of-Life Vehicles Management in Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-18, April.
    2. Gábor Horváth & Attila Bai & Sándor Szegedi & István Lázár & Csongor Máthé & László Huzsvai & Máté Zakar & Zoltán Gabnai & Tamás Tóth, 2023. "A Comprehensive Review of the Distinctive Tendencies of the Diffusion of E-Mobility in Central Europe," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-29, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Florenta Dinita & George Barjoveanu & Carmen Teodosiu, 2025. "An Environmental Life-Cycle Assessment of End-of-Life Vehicles Management in Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-18, April.
    2. José Alberto Fuinhas & Matheus Koengkan & Nuno Carlos Leitão & Chinazaekpere Nwani & Gizem Uzuner & Fatemeh Dehdar & Stefania Relva & Drielli Peyerl, 2021. "Effect of Battery Electric Vehicles on Greenhouse Gas Emissions in 29 European Union Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-26, December.
    3. Zhu, Guangyan & Tian, Yajun & Liu, Min & Zhao, Yating & Wang, Wen & Wang, Minghua & Li, Quansheng & Xie, Kechang, 2023. "Comprehensive competitiveness assessment of ammonia-hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles and their competitive routes," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    4. Alessandro Arrigoni & Valeria Arosio & Andrea Basso Peressut & Saverio Latorrata & Giovanni Dotelli, 2022. "Greenhouse Gas Implications of Extending the Service Life of PEM Fuel Cells for Automotive Applications: A Life Cycle Assessment," Clean Technol., MDPI, vol. 4(1), pages 1-17, February.
    5. da Costa, Vinicius Braga Ferreira & Bitencourt, Leonardo & Dias, Bruno Henriques & Soares, Tiago & de Andrade, Jorge Vleberton Bessa & Bonatto, Benedito Donizeti, 2025. "Life cycle assessment comparison of electric and internal combustion vehicles: A review on the main challenges and opportunities," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    6. Chi, Yuanying & Xu, Weiyue & Xiao, Meng & Wang, Zhengzao & Zhang, Xufeng & Chen, Yahui, 2023. "Fuel-cycle based environmental and economic assessment of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    7. Marc Wentker & Matthew Greenwood & Jens Leker, 2019. "A Bottom-Up Approach to Lithium-Ion Battery Cost Modeling with a Focus on Cathode Active Materials," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-18, February.
    8. Li, Yanfei & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad, 2022. "The economic feasibility of green hydrogen and fuel cell electric vehicles for road transport in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    9. Desreveaux, A. & Bouscayrol, A. & Trigui, R. & Hittinger, E. & Castex, E. & Sirbu, G.M., 2023. "Accurate energy consumption for comparison of climate change impact of thermal and electric vehicles," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    10. Magazzino, Cosimo & Mele, Marco & Schneider, Nicolas, 2021. "A D2C algorithm on the natural gas consumption and economic growth: Challenges faced by Germany and Japan," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 219(C).
    11. Yang, Jie & Yu, Fan & Ma, Kai & Yang, Bo & Yue, Zhiyuan, 2024. "Optimal scheduling of electric-hydrogen integrated charging station for new energy vehicles," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    12. Liu, Yajie & Dong, Feng & Wang, Yulong & Li, Jingyun & Qin, Chang, 2023. "Assessment of the energy-saving and environment effects of China's gasoline vehicle withdrawal under the impact of geopolitical risks," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PB).
    13. Ma, Ying & Wei, Rongrong & Zuo, Hongyan & Zuo, Qingsong & Luo, Xiaoyu & Chen, Ying & Wu, Shuying & Chen, Wei, 2024. "N-doped EG@MOFs derived porous carbon composite phase change materials for thermal optimization of Li-ion batteries at low temperature," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).
    14. Anca N. Iuga (Butnariu) & Vasile N. Popa & Luminița I. Popa, 2018. "Comparative Analysis of Automotive Products Regarding the Influence of Eco-Friendly Methods to Emissions’ Reduction," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-24, December.
    15. Doyeon Lee & Keunhwan Kim, 2021. "Research and Development Investment and Collaboration Framework for the Hydrogen Economy in South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-28, September.
    16. Shi, Zhiwei & Tian, Xinghua & Peng, Qingguo & Huang, Zhixin & Teng, Peng & Yin, Ruixue, 2025. "Effects analysis of hydrogen production from methanol reforming of dual-U reactor for fuel-cell hybrid electric vehicles," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 318(C).
    17. Lu, Qiang & Zhang, Bo & Yang, Shichun & Peng, Zhaoxia, 2022. "Life cycle assessment on energy efficiency of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    18. Xizi Cao & Ye Tian & Yan Shen & Tongran Wu & Renfei Li & Xinyu Liu & Amanzheli Yeerken & Yangyang Cui & Yifeng Xue & Aiping Lian, 2021. "Emission Variations of Primary Air Pollutants from Highway Vehicles and Implications during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Beijing, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-12, April.
    19. Ren, Lei & Zhou, Sheng & Peng, Tianduo & Ou, Xunmin, 2022. "Greenhouse gas life cycle analysis of China's fuel cell medium- and heavy-duty trucks under segmented usage scenarios and vehicle types," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 249(C).
    20. Zhang, Zhiqing & Dong, Rui & Tan, Dongli & Duan, Lin & Jiang, Feng & Yao, Xiaoxue & Yang, Dixin & Hu, Jingyi & Zhang, Jian & Zhong, Weihuang & Zhao, Ziheng, 2023. "Effect of structural parameters on diesel particulate filter trapping performance of heavy-duty diesel engines based on grey correlation analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 271(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:14:p:8443-:d:859750. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.