The systems-wide change needed to create circularity in the automotive sector and sometimes seem costly and prohibitive. However, as this report demonstrates, significant abatement is possible for the auto industry with very little additional added vehicle material cost. Using a special carbon abatement model, this analysis shows that a large proportion of automotive material carbon emissions could be abated by 2030 at no net-cost increase using technologies and practices that could be implemented today.

This report was published by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with McKinsey & Company, as part of the Circular Cars Initiative (CCI) – a partnership formed by WBCSD and the Forum to accelerate the sustainability transformation of the automotive industry. It is the last of three framework reports developed by CCI to help the sector and its regulators better understand automotive’s new sustainable future.