See how much carbon dioxide you save each year by driving electric instead of petrol or diesel — based on your mileage, your car's efficiency and how clean your electricity is.
Figures are in-use (well-to-wheel) estimates and exclude vehicle and battery manufacturing. Petrol is taken as 2.31 kg CO₂/L and diesel 2.68 kg CO₂/L; EV CO₂ = electricity used × your grid's carbon intensity.
Road transport is one of the largest sources of personal carbon emissions, and switching from a petrol or diesel car to an electric vehicle (EV) is one of the biggest single ways to cut yours. Exactly how much CO₂ you produce — and how much you save by going electric — depends on three things: how far you drive, how efficient each vehicle is, and how clean the electricity that charges the EV is. This calculator compares the yearly in-use (well-to-wheel) carbon dioxide of a fuel car against an EV on your grid and shows the difference.
A typical petrol car driven 15,000 km a year emits around 2.5–3 tonnes of CO₂. On an average grid an EV covering the same distance usually cuts that by 50–70%, and on a clean hydro or renewable grid the reduction can exceed 90%.
Tip: EVs save money as well as carbon — see our EV vs Gas Savings Calculator for the running-cost side.
For a combustion car, CO₂ comes directly from the fuel burned; for an EV, it comes from the electricity used and how that electricity is generated.
| Source | Emission factor | Roughly per km* |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol / gasoline | ~2.31 kg CO₂ / litre | ~185 g/km at 8 L/100km |
| Diesel | ~2.68 kg CO₂ / litre | ~161 g/km at 6 L/100km |
| Electricity | Grid intensity (g CO₂ / kWh) | 0–150+ g/km by grid |
*Per-km figures are examples for the economies shown; your result above uses the exact numbers you enter.
An EV produces no tailpipe emissions, but it is only as clean as the electricity used to charge it. That is captured by the grid carbon intensity — the grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour. The greener your power, the closer your EV gets to zero in-use emissions. Typical values vary enormously around the world:
| Grid type (example) | Approx. intensity |
|---|---|
| Hydro / renewable-heavy | ~30–60 g CO₂/kWh |
| Low-carbon mix | ~150–250 g/kWh |
| World average | ~450–500 g/kWh |
| Fossil-heavy | ~600–700 g/kWh |
| Coal-dominated | ~800–850 g/kWh |
Here is how a year of driving 15,000 km compares for different vehicles (in-use CO₂):
| Vehicle | Assumption | Annual CO₂ |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol car | 8 L/100km | ~2.77 t |
| Diesel car | 6.5 L/100km | ~2.61 t |
| EV – coal grid | 18 kWh/100km, 820 g/kWh | ~2.21 t |
| EV – average grid | 18 kWh/100km, 400 g/kWh | ~1.08 t |
| EV – clean grid | 18 kWh/100km, 50 g/kWh | ~0.14 t |
"Tailpipe" emissions are only what comes out of the exhaust. "Well-to-wheel" also counts the energy used to produce and deliver the fuel or electricity, which is the fairer way to compare an EV with a combustion car. This tool uses an in-use well-to-wheel approach: fuel burned for the combustion car, and grid electricity for the EV.
Manufacturing any vehicle creates CO₂, and an EV battery makes its production footprint larger than a comparable petrol car. However, because the EV emits so much less while driving, it typically "pays back" that extra manufacturing carbon within a few years, then stays well ahead over the car lifetime — especially on a clean grid. Lifetime studies consistently find EVs lower-carbon than equivalent petrol cars in almost every market.
One tonne of CO₂ is hard to picture, so the calculator translates your yearly saving into tree-years — a mature tree absorbs about 21 kg of CO₂ per year, so a tonne takes roughly 48 tree-years to absorb. For comparison, a single long-haul return flight can emit one to two tonnes of CO₂ per passenger, which shows how quickly driving emissions add up over a year.
A typical petrol car driven 15,000 km a year emits roughly 2.5–3 tonnes of CO₂. Each litre of petrol releases about 2.31 kg and each litre of diesel about 2.68 kg.
It depends on mileage and how clean your electricity is. An EV on an average grid often cuts driving CO₂ by 50–70% versus petrol, and by more than 90% on a clean grid.
A petrol car at 8 L/100km emits about 185 g/km; a diesel at 6 L/100km about 161 g/km. An EV ranges from near zero on renewables to over 150 g/km on coal.
They have no tailpipe emissions, but charging uses grid electricity that may come from fossil fuels, so their real CO₂ depends on the grid intensity.
Usually, but by a smaller margin. Electric motors are far more efficient than engines, so even on a dirty grid an EV often matches or beats an efficient petrol car.
An EV is only as clean as the power that charges it — under 100 g CO₂/kWh on a renewable grid, over 800 g on a coal-heavy one.
No. It compares in-use driving emissions. Manufacturing, especially the battery, adds CO₂ that EVs typically offset within a few years of driving.
A mature tree absorbs about 21 kg of CO₂ per year, so a tonne takes roughly 48 tree-years. The calculator shows the tree equivalent of your yearly saving.
Fuel emission factors follow standard values used by the U.S. EPA Green Vehicle Guide; grid carbon intensity and EV lifecycle context draw on the International Energy Agency (IEA). Figures are general estimates, not formal carbon accounting.