Economic assessment of hybrid electric vehicles for sustainable transportation and decarbonization in Brazil

Abstract

The transportation sector is a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, demanding the adoption of low-carbon technologies. This study focuses on the economic assessment of two types of hybrid electric vehicles as taxis in Brazil, exploring their potential to ease electric vehicle adoption and contribute to decarbonizing the transportation sector. Environmental life cycle cost, net present value, and total cost of ownership were calculated for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), as taxis and private cars, fuelled by different fuels, in single-fuel and dual-fuel modes. It also compares the Brazilian scenario with Spain and the United Kingdom to examine their economic benefits, considering factors such as purchase costs, operating expenses, and government incentives. Results show that taxis outperform private cars in return on investment, with Spain performing best due to its lower discount rate. Brazil ranked between Spain and the United Kingdom in ELCC and TCO but was the least favourable in NPV. Overall, the research highlights that taxis are identified as a practical short-term alternative for introducing electric vehicles in Brazil, proving to be more economically favourable than private vehicles.