Analysis of electric vehicles contribution to CO₂ reduction – case study

According to the EEA, electric vehicles s emit 17${3 0 \%}$ less greenhouse gases (GHG) than traditional petrol and diesel cars, and by 2050, their lifecycle emissions could decrease by at least 73%. Electric vehicle adoption is accelerating globally. In 2023, 14 million new EVs were registered worldwide, bringing the total to 40 million, marking a 35% year-on-year growth and a sixfold increase since 2018. EVs accounted for 18% of total car sales in 2023, up from 14% in 2022 and 2% in 2018. Battery electric cars made up 70% of all electric cars sold in 2023. In Romania, the number of electric cars surpassed 42,000, with 16,800 new registrations in the previous year—a 35% increase from 2022. The charging infrastructure has also grown to nearly 800 public stations. Future EV usage in Romania was projected using scenarios based on car registration data from 2021 and 2023, outlining business-as-usual (BAU), probable, and extreme scenarios for 2030. The current study indicates that by 2030, emissions from internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) will see minor changes under the business-as-usual scenario, with slight increases in gasoline emissions and decreases in diesel emissions, while hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) will show minimal but growing contributions.