Abstract:

In Mexico City, urban air pollution has risen dramatically in recent decades, leading to harmful effects on the ecosystem. New sustainable technologies have been adopted in the transportation sector to reduce pollution emissions. There have been no studies in Mexico that have undertaken a technoeconomic analysis of the environmental impact of electric cars (EVs) on taxis. To address this gap in the research, this study aimed to perform a cost-environmental impact assessment of electric taxi introduction in Mexico City using the life-cycle cost (LCC) methodology and the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions assessment. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis was performed to identify parameters with the greatest influence on the LCC. The LCC of EVs was found to be larger than that of internal combustion vehicles (ICVs); the acquisition cost was identified as the greatest contributor to the total LCC, followed by the maintenance cost. Worldwide, mixed results have been reported due to differences in the use of local parameters and values. To promote EVs, it is necessary to reduce either acquisition costs or battery costs. This could be achieved by increasing the production of vehicles and reducing the cost of components through an EV government subsidy; by increasing and decreasing the costs of gasoline and electricity, respectively; through effective implementation of recharging infrastructure; and through technical improvements, such as efficiency and autonomy.  The environmental analysis showed that there is only a slight reduction in GHG emissions with electric taxi introduction. Nevertheless, cleaner renewable energy sources must be adopted and considered in order to achieve a much greater reduction and take full advantage of the benefits of EVs.