biostudies-literatureUnknown1(1)Sun XDeutsche ForschungsgemeinschaftChina is globally the largest and a rapidly growing market for electric vehicles. The aim of the paper is to determine challenges related to criticality and environmental impacts of battery electric vehicles and internal combustion engine vehicles, focusing not only on a global but also the Chinese perspective, applying the ESSENZ method, which covers a unique approach to determine criticality aspects as well as integrating life cycle assessment results. Real industry data for vehicles and batteries produced in China was collected. Further, for the criticality assessment, Chinese import patterns are analyzed. The results show that the battery electric vehicle has similar and partly increased environmental impacts compared with the internal combustion engine vehicle. For both, the vehicle cCircular economy and sustainability435-455https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC7899740biostudies-literatureCriticality Assessment of the Life Cycle of Passenger Vehicles Produced in China.PMC7899740Yang JSun XFinkbeiner MBach VfalseCriticality Assessment of the Life Cycle of Passenger Vehicles Produced in China.China is globally the largest and a rapidly growing market for electric vehicles. The aim of the paper is to determine challenges related to criticality and environmental impacts of battery electric vehicles and internal combustion engine vehicles, focusing not only on a global but also the Chinese perspective, applying the ESSENZ method, which covers a unique approach to determine criticality aspects as well as integrating life cycle assessment results. Real industry data for vehicles and batteries produced in China was collected. Further, for the criticality assessment, Chinese import patterns are analyzed. The results show that the battery electric vehicle has similar and partly increased environmental impacts compared with the internal combustion engine vehicle. For both, the vehicle c2021-01-01T00:00:00Z20212026-05-07T16:09:03.885Z2021-02-26T08:12:36ZS-EPMC78997403488854910.1007/s43615-021-00012-5