How Efficient are EVs Compared to ICE vehicles?

More customers have turned to EVs since the start of the US and Israel's war in Iran , which has triggered rising fuel costs. 

Recent data from Bloomberg, shows that in March 2026, consumers in France, Germany and the UK drove off in 206,200 EVs, a 44% increase over 2025. 

Bloomberg's data shows that in South Korea, electric car transactions more than doubled and in Italy, 16,000 battery-powered vehicles were sold last month, a 67% increase over the previous year.

As more consumers are switching from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to EVs in order to pick up on the benefits in efficiency, EV Magazine has analyzed in-depth how efficient EVs are in comparison to ICE vehicles.

How do EVs work compared to ICE vehicles?

Rather than being propelled by a fossil fuel combustion engine, EVs are driven by a battery and an electric motor.

EVs must manage electromagnetic fields and chemical energy storage, whereas ICE vehicles must mandate intense heat as controlled explosions in cylinders power the vehicle. 

Much of the energy made in ICE vehicles is lost as heat energy. Due to this, EVs are typically more efficient than ICE counterparts. 

Jan Rosenow, Professor of Energy and Climate Policy at Oxford University, says: “ICE vehicles waste a whopping 80% of energy in their fuel. EVs are propelled by entirely different mechanisms.

"Energy enters the vehicle as electricity, which directly powers the drivetrain making it three to four times more efficient from a final energy perspective.”

How do they compare to ICE vehicles in efficiency?

The US Department of Energy (DOE) says that EVs are more efficient than their gasoline-powered counterparts. 

According to data from the DOE, EVs convert over 77% of the electrical energy from the grid to power at the wheels.

Conventional gasoline vehicles only convert about 12% to 30% of the energy stored in gasoline to power at the wheels.

An EV electric drive system is only responsible for a 15% to 20% energy loss compared to 64% to 75% for a gasoline engine according to the DOE data.

Regenerative braking and drive cycle

As EVs also use regenerative braking to recapture and reuse energy that normally would be lost in braking and therefore waste no energy idling. 

The DOE says that EV energy efficiency – energy to the wheels – varies by drive cycle. It ranges from 60% to 66% in city driving and from 71% to 73% on the highway.

If regenerative braking is counted, EV energy efficiency can exceed 94% in the city and 77% on the highway, according to statistics from the DOE. 

Greenhouse gas emissions

EVs running only on electricity produce zero tailpipe emissions.

They produce emissions in the manufacturing process, particularly in the batteries which depend on critical minerals like zinc, lithium and nickel, which are mined. 

In addition to this, electricity production itself can cause emissions, depending on how the electricity is generated.

Even when these factors are taken into account, the US Environmental Protection Agency says an EV is typically responsible for lower levels of greenhouse gases than an average new gasoline car.

Recycling EV batteries can reduce the emissions associated with making an EV by reducing the need for new materials.

Various companies including BMW and Renault have begun to work on battery recycling schemes.