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Internal-combustion vehicles were not universally better than EVs in 2023. They were better for specific duty cycles: drivers who needed a five-minute refuel, traveled beyond reliable public charging, drove in severe cold, towed heavy loads, or lacked a place to charge at home. EVs were already substantially more efficient and produced lower lifetime emissions in the representative medium-car comparison. The real advantage of gasoline and diesel was operational convenience under demanding conditions, not cleaner or more efficient energy use.
Start by defining what “better” means
A powertrain can win on one measure and lose on another. In 2023, a fair comparison required looking at lifecycle emissions, energy efficiency, total ownership cost, refueling time, route coverage, weather-related range, towing and payload, passenger needs, purchase price, and access to home charging.
The answer also changed with annual mileage, climate, electricity mix, fuel prices, parking, and the vehicle’s job. A commuter who parks beside a charger faced a different decision from a rural driver crossing sparsely served highways or towing a loaded trailer.
Energy use and emissions: EVs held the measurable advantage
Electric drivetrains convert far more stored energy into motion
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that battery EVs use approximately 87%–91% of battery and regenerative-braking energy to propel the vehicle. Conventional gasoline vehicles convert about 16%–25% of the energy in gasoline into motion; most of the rest becomes heat and other losses. EPA calls this energy-efficiency gap a “significant advantage” for EVs.
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That comparison describes conversion efficiency, not the source of electricity or the emissions from making the battery. Those factors belong in a lifecycle calculation.
Lifecycle greenhouse-gas emissions still favored the representative BEV
The International Energy Agency’s analysis of a medium vehicle sold in 2023 estimates lifetime emissions of about 15 tonnes of CO2-equivalent for a battery EV versus 38 tonnes for an equivalent internal-combustion vehicle over 15 years, or roughly 200,000 km. The estimate includes vehicle manufacturing, energy supply, and use rather than tailpipe emissions alone.
The IEA’s 2024 EV Life Cycle Assessment Calculator gives a different set of totals because it uses its own stated assumptions and example vehicle: 54.1 tonnes for a typical medium gasoline car, 36.9 tonnes for an equivalent plug-in hybrid, and 25.0 tonnes for an equivalent BEV over 15 years. These figures are not universal ratings; changing the country, electricity mix, vehicle size, mileage, or battery changes the result.
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Battery production raises an EV’s emissions at the factory gate. In the IEA calculator’s example, cumulative BEV emissions become lower than the gasoline equivalent after about two years under the calculator’s assumptions. That does not make every EV cleaner in every market, but it does rule out the claim that combustion was generally the lower-emission choice in 2023.
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Why gasoline could still win on a long trip
Refueling time remained the clearest practical advantage
EPA notes that fully charging a plug-in vehicle at a public station takes longer than the usual 5–10 minutes spent filling a gasoline car. A driver making several long stops in one day could therefore lose more time to charging, even when an EV’s energy cost was favorable.
Home charging changes the calculation. If the car is connected overnight, most daily energy is added while the owner sleeps and there is no special refueling stop. The time advantage belongs to the driver who can charge where the vehicle is already parked; the gasoline advantage appears when a driver must add substantial range immediately on the road.
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Route coverage was uneven
The IEA’s Global EV Outlook 2023, published April 26, 2023, identified long-distance charging access as an ongoing concern. Public networks were expanding, but coverage, charger reliability, payment systems, and charging speed varied by route and region. Gasoline stations, by contrast, were already embedded along virtually every established highway corridor.
In the United States, the Department of Energy described the 2023-era network as more than 60,000 public charging locations and over 160,000 charging ports, while the federal goal was 500,000 ports by 2030. Those are dated deployment figures, not a guarantee that a particular rural route had a convenient fast charger. Higher EV adoption also requires grid planning, peak-load management, and smart charging, according to the IEA.
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Range depends on temperature, speed, load, and charging opportunity
Cold weather can remove a large share of usable range
EPA cites research showing an average EV range reduction of about 40% in cold temperatures when cabin heat is used. The exact loss varies with the model, temperature, wind, tire choice, driving speed, battery conditioning, and how much heating is required. A route that is comfortable in mild weather may need an additional charging stop in winter.
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Combustion vehicles also lose efficiency in cold weather, but their fuel stops remain quick and the engine produces waste heat for the cabin. For a driver without reliable chargers along a winter route, that difference can outweigh an EV’s efficiency advantage.
Most daily trips were short enough for either powertrain
EPA’s summary of the 2022 National Household Travel Survey found that more than 73% of U.S. on-road passenger trips were 10 miles or less and more than 98% were under 75 miles. Those figures explain why a home-charged EV worked well for many ordinary commutes and errands. They do not describe every household’s use: one weekly towing trip or a long rural commute can determine the vehicle choice even if the other six days involve short drives.
Heavy work exposed EV capability limits in 2023
Towing can reduce range and increase charging stops
EPA cautioned that some current EVs might not meet heavy-towing needs. A trailer adds aerodynamic drag and weight, increasing energy use and reducing the distance available between charges. The practical question is not only the vehicle’s maximum tow rating; it is whether the truck, trailer, weather, payload, and route leave usable charging options.
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Gasoline and diesel trucks offered a mature combination of high tow ratings, widespread fuel access, and short stops. That made ICE the safer operational choice for frequent heavy towing in 2023, even though an EV could be quiet and efficient when unloaded.
Payload, seating, and cargo can be decisive
Battery mass, vehicle packaging, and model availability affected payload and cargo requirements. EPA specifically noted that some EVs might not satisfy needs for more than five passengers. Buyers carrying large crews, dense equipment, or a full payload had to check the exact model’s ratings rather than assume that an EV body style matched an equivalent gasoline vehicle.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Purchase price and total cost required local math
There was no honest universal answer to “Are gas cars cheaper once charging and battery replacement are included?” The IEA’s total-cost-of-ownership tool varies the result by country, year, annual distance, vehicle type, fuel price, financing, maintenance, and home-charger assumptions. Electricity tariffs can make home charging inexpensive or costly; public fast charging can narrow the gap; fuel prices and incentives change by jurisdiction.
Use the vehicle’s actual purchase price and financing, expected annual kilometres, local gasoline and electricity rates, insurance, taxes, maintenance schedule, tires, charging equipment, and resale expectations. Treat battery replacement as a model-specific risk to investigate, not as a fixed expense to add to every EV. Conversely, do not assume an ICE vehicle’s fuel and maintenance costs are constant over its life.
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| Factor | Where ICE had the edge | Where EV had the edge | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy conversion | None on the measured drivetrain comparison | 87%–91% battery energy to motion versus 16%–25% for gasoline energy, according to EPA | Conversion efficiency is not the same as lifecycle emissions |
| Lifetime emissions | Higher in the IEA representative comparison | About 15 t CO2-eq versus 38 t for an equivalent ICEV over 15 years/200,000 km | Country, grid, vehicle, battery, and mileage assumptions matter |
| Roadside energy stop | Typical gasoline refueling took about 5–10 minutes | Charging avoided fuel stops when done at home | EPA says a full public charge takes longer than a gasoline stop |
| Long-distance access | Mature fuel network on established routes | Growing public network, but uneven coverage and reliability | Check the exact route and charger status |
| Winter operation | Fast refueling and engine waste heat | Efficient operation, but EPA-cited research found about 40% average range loss with heat in cold conditions | Loss varies by model and conditions |
| Heavy towing and large loads | More established configurations and fuel access | Capable models existed, but some did not meet heavy-towing or seating requirements | Verify tow, payload, and charging performance for the specific vehicle |
| Ownership cost | Can win where purchase price, fuel, or charging access favors it | Can win where electricity, incentives, mileage, and home charging favor it | IEA says the result must be calculated locally |
Who had a rational reason to choose ICE in 2023?
- No home or workplace charging: Apartment residents or curb parkers who depended on public charging faced more planning and longer stops.
- Frequent long-distance travel: Drivers covering remote routes or making multiple highway legs in one day benefited from ubiquitous, rapid refueling.
- Heavy towing or commercial payload: Work that regularly approached tow or payload limits favored the mature ICE truck market.
- Severe winter conditions: A large, predictable range penalty combined with sparse chargers increased operational risk.
- Large-family seating requirements: Buyers needing more than five seats had fewer EV choices, as EPA noted.
Who was already well served by an EV?
- Home-charging commuters: Overnight charging matched the short-trip pattern documented by the National Household Travel Survey.
- High-mileage urban drivers: Frequent use allowed the drivetrain-efficiency advantage to accumulate, subject to local electricity prices.
- Owners prioritizing lifecycle emissions: The IEA’s medium-car analysis found substantially lower lifetime emissions for the BEV.
- Drivers with predictable routes and mild weather: Planning around available chargers reduced the main convenience disadvantage.
A practical way to make the decision
- List the hardest trip, not the average trip. Record the longest route, trailer weight, passengers, cargo, temperature, and required arrival time.
- Map where the vehicle can charge. Count dependable home, workplace, and route chargers; note connector compatibility, charging speed, opening hours, and backup options.
- Calculate annual energy cost locally. Use real electricity tariffs, gasoline prices, annual distance, and the vehicle’s expected efficiency rather than national averages.
- Check the exact ratings. Confirm tow rating, payload, seating, cargo volume, cold-weather range expectations, and charging limits for the specific model and trim.
- Compare five-year ownership inputs. Include purchase and financing, insurance, maintenance, tires, charging equipment, fuel or electricity, taxes, incentives, and expected resale value.
- Choose for the duty cycle. If one rare but essential task cannot be completed reliably, a lower-emission powertrain that fails that task is not the practical vehicle for your household.
The defensible conclusion
In 2023, internal combustion was still better when speed of refueling, route certainty, winter resilience, heavy towing, payload, or passenger capacity mattered more than efficiency. Those were infrastructure and duty-cycle advantages. They were not evidence that gasoline or diesel converted energy more efficiently or produced lower lifetime emissions.
For a driver with dependable charging and ordinary daily distances, the evidence pointed the other way: EVs used energy far more efficiently, and the IEA’s representative lifecycle analysis found roughly half the lifetime emissions of an equivalent ICE vehicle. “Better” therefore described the driver’s constraints, not a universal verdict about the technology.
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