Life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of combustion engine and electric passenger cars and two-wheelers in India

If the global transportation sector is to align with efforts supporting the best chance of achieving the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to below 2 °C, the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from road transport in 2050 need to be dramatically lower than today’s levels. As the fifth largest new passenger car market in the world and the largest market for two-wheelers, India plays an important role in reducing these emissions. It is therefore important to understand which powertrain and fuel technologies are most capable of shrinking the carbon footprint of passenger cars and two-wheelers in India—and not only the emissions from the tailpipes, but also from fuel and electricity production and vehicle manufacturing.