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Page 2 of 18 Tong et al. Carbon Footprints 2025;4:2 https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/cf.2024.44

INTRODUCTION
The low-carbon transition of the automotive industry is a critical component of the global effort to achieve
[1]
carbon neutrality . The transition involves not only the development of electric and hybrid vehicles but also
the optimization of the entire production chain, from raw material sourcing to end-of-life vehicle disposal,
[2]
which brings significant challenges to the automotive industry . As a pillar of the national economy, the
automotive industry should balance its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with the need to
address a multitude of socio-economic factors. The GHG emission reduction extends beyond mere energy
transitions, encompassing the intricate industrial linkages involved in upstream material production .
[3]
Furthermore, emerging intelligent driving technologies have the potential to fundamentally transform
[4]
people’s travel patterns .

A comprehensive circular economy strategy, which has significant potential for GHG emission reduction,
can incorporate the broader context of the economic system with intricated cross-sectoral linkages of the
modern industrial system, which requires a systemic view of the socio-economic system . Considering the
[5]
holistic approach of the circular economy strategy, which spans from reduction initiatives and material
recycling to energy recovery, and requires collaborative efforts from all stakeholders across the product’s
entire lifecycle, the following pivotal research questions (RQ) emerge as the automobile industry stands at
this crucial juncture of technological transition:

RQ1: What are the key circular economy strategies with the potential to significantly decrease greenhouse
gas emissions in China’s automobile manufacturing sector?

RQ2: Additionally, to what extent are these strategies effective in realizing the overarching objective of
decarbonization?

The aim of this research is to quantitatively assess the potential of different circular economy strategies for
GHG emission reduction in the low-carbon transition of the automobile industry, using an input-output
subsystem analysis tool to link sector-level efforts to their broad effects on the national economy. The next
section will position our research into the existing literature on the decarbonization of the automotive
industry. Section "METHODOLOGY AND DATA" presents the methods and data used in the analysis.
Section "RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS" shows the research results, followed by a general discussion.
Finally, the implications to various stakeholders for the decarbonization of the automobile industry along
the circular value chains conclude the paper.

LITERATURE REVIEW
The global automotive industry is undergoing a pivotal transition toward low-carbon technologies, with the
[6]
electrification of road transport anticipated to significantly reduce emissions in the forthcoming decades .
In 2023, the progressive electrification of Chinese passenger cars alone accounted for about 35% of the
global road transport emissions avoided, showing the great potential to unlock cumulative carbon
[1]
benefits . GHG emissions from material production constitute a significant proportion of the total carbon
footprint across the entire lifecycle of an automobile, and this proportion is expected to rise further as
[7]
energy sources shift toward lower-carbon alternatives . Therefore, the circular economy strategy will play
an increasingly important role in the low-carbon development of the automobile industry.

Multiple innovative pathways toward low-carbon transportation
The circular economy, adhering to the 3R principles (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle), leads to diversified
technological pathways for GHG reduction across the industrial chain, which brings great opportunities for