When investigating the respiratory effects and the impact on acidification it is observed that biofuels have a large impact. Petrol and diesel vehicles have a lower respiratory effect compared to biofuel-using vehicles.
When analyzing the impact on mineral resource depletion, the production of the vehicle and its components stands out as the main important life cycle stage to consider. All vehicle technologies that are using specific rare earth materials in their drive train have a more significant impact. Fuel cell electric, hybrid and battery electric vehicles have the highest impact due to the use of specific materials in the fuel cell, the NiMH battery and the lithium battery. However, recycling these components reduces the impact significantly. The selection of the vehicle segment has an influence on the environmental impact. Segments dominated by larger, heavier vehicles have a larger impact.