Dr. L. Harrison; D.Doerffel (2003) In: 2003 SAE International Future Transportation Technology Conference, 23-25 June 2003, Costa Mesa, California USA.

Sustainability considerations are unique to a specific vehicle design. Unfortunately, these considerations tend to be preordained at the initial lifecycle stage. This directly implicates the financial planning of an automotive manufacturer, where all end of life product responsibility costs occur. Conflicts may arise regarding the design intention to reduce vehicle weight, improve efficiency and increase technological innovation, particular when these factors do not consider the sustainable and ecological future transport costs.
This paper compares initial sustainability considerations of an electric, and hybrid vehicle.  The research concentrates upon the impact of two vehicles, a hybrid (Prius) and an electric vehicle (Sam). A methodology is presented that enables a review of sustainable impacts, which automotive manufacturers have to consider.