Life cycle assessments of vehicle components: an overview

Abstract The development and manufacturing of automotive components with reduced environmental impacts is needed to decrease the overall ecological burden of vehicles. Although individual vehicle components have been scientifically evaluated and the findings published for decades, there is still a lack of a summarized listing of these case studies. This study presents a systematic literature review (SLR) of life cycle assessments (LCAs) on vehicle components, excluding batteries and tires. After exclusion of unrelated publications, 129 results were used for further analysis. This sample contains 160 LCA studies conducted since 1995. The analysis identified recurring themes and key trends in impact categories, methodologies, and software tools. Structural and powertrain components appeared to be the most frequently assessed. While lightweight and material selection emerged as the most prominent and still trending aspects, climate change and energy demand turned out as to be dominant indicators. Besides insights into the current state of LCA implementation within the automotive (supply) industry, this research also reveals a few gaps.