Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The article is interesting, but there are aspects to imporve and to enhance,

Please put clear goals of the research in the paper

Which impacte and affection has the temperature over your research, please clarify the suitbility of this point: 3.3.2. The impact of temperature. Introduce de problematic of this point

In table 5 whihc is the diference of the Carbon dioxide emission (without transmission) Carbon dioxide emission (with transmission) - clarify what's the meaning of transmission or not

How you can simulate the 3.3.3. The impact of congestion, you do not introduce this

The conclusions are not clear and needs to ve rewritted 

Is necessary a Discussion section to summarize all of the data and writte some hipotesis

Please the article needs some improvements

Author Response

Response to the comments of Reviewer #1:

Thank you so much for the opportunity to revise our manuscript. Your suggestions are very helpful, enlightening, and precise for improving our paper. We have studied your comments carefully and have revised relevant parts. For your convenience, all the revisions made to the manuscript are highlighted in bright blue. Our responses to your comments are as following:

1. More specific goals

The article is interesting, but there are aspects to imporve and to enhance,

Please put clear goals of the research in the paper

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well considered the research problem and goal we want to show and adjusted relevant content in line 81-91 , line 172-178 and line 184-186.

 

2. The specific contribution of temperature

Which impacte and affection has the temperature over your research, please clarify the suitbility of this point: 3.3.2. The impact of temperature. Introduce de problematic of this point.

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well reviewed the information that we have showed about temperature and make modification as below. We add the content in first paragraph in section 3.3.2 :” Compared with ICEVs, EV performs worse under extreme ambient temperature, requiring more maintenance and higher energy consumption to ensure normal operation [11]. Moreover, China's geographical location and provincial distribution determine that different province has different climate and average temperature.”

 

3. The clear explanation of table

In table 5 whihc is the diference of the Carbon dioxide emission (without transmission) Carbon dioxide emission (with transmission) - clarify what's the meaning of transmission or not.

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well considered the information of Table 5 we want to show and more detailed descriptions have been added in section 3.2.2, line 297-300.

 

4. More specific presentation of simulation

How you can simulate the 3.3.3. The impact of congestion, you do not introduce this

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have checked the content of  congestion index we want to show and cohesion and summary content are added to enhance understanding at the beginning and end of each paragraph in 3.3.3.

 

5. Optimization conclusion presentation

The conclusions are not clear and needs to be rewritten

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well considered the results we find from our study and sum up the management enlightenment of provinces on the basis of the discussions . Here is what we added after line 598, in conclusion:

1. While increasing the proportion of clean energy in electric power to significantly reduce carbon emissions, provinces should maintain a certain proportion of thermal power and inter-provincial power transmission to ensure power toughness and sustainability, to prevent the occurrence of power shortage in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in the second half of 2022.
2. The temperature coefficient mainly affects the environmental efficiency of PHEV and EV with motor as power source. To minimize the effect of temperature on EVs, extreme temperature test, especially extreme low temperature test, is particularly important for EV. This kind of performance measurement should not just be done by vehicle manufactures like BYD, governments are supposed to participate in, as the impact of climate on cars will ultimately result in additional carbon emissions and reduced environmental efficiency in each province.
3. The congestion coefficient mainly affects the environmental efficiency of ICEV and HEV with internal combustion engine as power source. That is to say, with the increase of EV retention ratio in each province, the higher road congestion adaptability of EV makes it unnecessary for the government to increase the extra investment in traffic congestion relief However, this is under the assumption that the energy consumption of EVs and ICEVs does not change significantly.

 

6. Improve the connection

Is necessary a Discussion section to summarize all of the data and writte some hipotesis?

Please the article needs some improvements.

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well considered the figures and tables we have presented and the data we used in calculation. Since the results are too complex to affect the senses, we have put them in supporting material (for example, Table A7 to Table A10 shows the vehicles specific efficiency). The section 4 is used as the core data presentation and results discussion.

 

We also used the language service of MDPI to revise the language and presentation of the article, so as to present our research in a clearer logic and more reasonable text. The following is a proof of language polishing provided by MDPI.

 

Thank you so much for your generous comments, which are all valuable and very helpful for revising and improving our paper!

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

This paper proposes Vehicles’ environmental efficiency evaluation of different regions: a combination of LCA and two-stage DEA method. The paper is well-written and provides valuable insights, but some concerns should be addressed:

• The paper's title should be revised to reflect its content and be more concise and engaging accurately. The authors should consider proposing a more suitable title that reflects the key findings of the research.

• The abstract should include significant findings and be structured clearly and easily. It should briefly summarize the paper's main findings to help readers understand the research.

• The introduction should provide a logical framework for the research, with each paragraph flowing seamlessly into the next. The authors should improve the coherence between paragraphs and offer more connections. The introduction should also clearly highlight the research contributions and aim, articulating the research question and its importance.

• The figures should be presented clearly and concisely, with informative captions that provide sufficient information to help readers understand them.

• The research problem should be stated clearly and concisely to increase readability.

• The authors should clarify the connections between the forecasting and Data Augmentation methods and how each method contributes to the research. They should also provide a detailed explanation of the solution method used and its effectiveness.

• The figures and charts should be high quality, easy to read, visually appealing, and effectively communicate the research findings. Figure 1 should be revised to include more data or more detailed information.

• The authors should provide more insightful and actionable managerial insights based on the research findings and clearly articulate the practical implications of the research for managers and organizations.

• What is you mean in lines 235-236 by Thermal power generation encompasses various sources such as coal, natural gas, oil, biogas, garbage and biomass.

Please explain and clarify more.

• Flowchart is beneficial; it’s also important to outline the methodology behind this new approach. Please consider more information and explanations for the suggested flowchart of your proposed approach at the beginning of your paper.

• The authors should carefully proofread and edit the paper to correct typos and grammatical errors. They should consider having someone else review the paper for any errors that they may have missed.

• Finally, relevant following papers from the MDPI journal should be used to demonstrate the research's relevance to the specific field of study:

1.      A two-stage eco-efficiency evaluation of China’s industrial sectors: A dynamic network data envelopment analysis (DNDEA) approach. Process Safety and Environmental Protection. 2021 Apr 1; 148:879-92.

2.      Developing a novel integrated generalised data envelopment analysis (DEA) to evaluate hospitals providing stroke care services. Bioengineering. 2021 Dec 10;8(12):207.

3.      Environmental assessment of European Union countries. Energies. 2019 Jan 18;12(2):295.A novel machine learning approach combined with optimization models for eco-efficiency evaluation. Applied Sciences. 2020 Jul 28;10(15):5210.

4.      Benchmarking Sustainable Manufacturing: A DEA-Based Method and Application. Energies. 2020 Nov 15;13(22):5962.

5.       Carbon Emission Allocation in a Chinese Province-Level Region Based on Two-Stage Network Structures. Sustainability. 2019 Mar 5;11(5):1369.

Extensive editing of the English language required

Author Response

Response to the comments of Reviewer #2:

Thank you so much for the opportunity to revise our manuscript. Your suggestions are very helpful, enlightening, and precise for improving our paper. We have studied your comments carefully and have revised relevant parts. For your convenience, all the revisions made to the manuscript are highlighted in bright blue. Our responses to your comments are as following:

1. Title optimizing

This paper proposes Vehicles’ environmental efficiency evaluation of different regions: a combination of LCA and two-stage DEA method. The paper is well-written and provides valuable insights, but some concerns should be addressed:

The paper's title should be revised to reflect its content and be more concise and engaging accurately. The authors should consider proposing a more suitable title that reflects the key findings of the research.

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well considered the points and information we want to show from the title. The title has been modified and the new title is “Vehicle environmental efficiency evaluation in different regions in China: a combination of life cycle analysis (LCA) and two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) methods ”.

 

2. Abstract optimizing

The abstract should include significant findings and be structured clearly and easily. It should briefly summarize the paper's main findings to help readers understand the research.

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well reviewed the information that we have showed in abstract and make modification as below. We add the specific result in abstract in sentence “The results show that the well to wheel (WTW) emission range of internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV) is 288.28-217.40 CO₂-eq g/km and 248.20-26.67 CO₂-eq g/km for EV, which means the WTW carbon emission of EV is generally lower than that of ICEV (except Heilongjiang Province).”. We also included some management insights at end of paragraph.

 

3. The improvement of logistic of introduction

The introduction should provide a logical framework for the research, with each paragraph flowing seamlessly into the next. The authors should improve the coherence between paragraphs and offer more connections. The introduction should also clearly highlight the research contributions and aim, articulating the research question and its importance.

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well considered the logistic of introduction and make modification in introduction and mainly adjusted paragraph 1, 3, 4 and 5.

 

4. Improve the intelligibility of figures

The figures should be presented clearly and concisely, with informative captions that provide sufficient information to help readers understand them.

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have checked the figures in main page and tables and we fill in the missing numbers and carefully checked the reasonableness of the unit symbol and the notation. The adjustment mainly focuses on figure 2, figure 3, figure 4, figure 5, figure 6, figure 7, figure 8, figure 9, figure 10 and figure 11.

 

5. Increase the readability of research problem

The research problem should be stated clearly and concisely to increase readability.

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well considered the research problem we want to show and adjusted relevant content in line 81-91 , line 172-178 and line 184-186.

 

6. Improve the connection

The authors should clarify the connections between the forecasting and Data Augmentation methods and how each method contributes to the research. They should also provide a detailed explanation of the solution method used and its effectiveness.

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well considered the connection between the forecasting and data augmentation methods we want to show from the main pages. We have added the data connection of LCA and DEA in the introduction, line 73-75. In addition, we strengthened the role and connection of each indicator in the LCA model in 3.1, 3.3.2 and 3.3.3.

 

7. Increase picture clarity and readability

The figures and charts should be high quality, easy to read, visually appealing, and effectively communicate the research findings. Figure 1 should be revised to include more data or more detailed information.

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well considered the information we want to show from the figures and improve clarity and readability of each figure in our work.

 

8. More insightful and actionable managerial insights

The authors should provide more insightful and actionable managerial insights based on the research findings and clearly articulate the practical implications of the research for managers and organizations.

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well considered the results we find from our study and sum up the management enlightenment of provinces . Here is what we added after line 599, in conclusion:

1. While increasing the proportion of clean energy in electric power to significantly reduce carbon emissions, provinces should maintain a certain proportion of thermal power and inter-provincial power transmission to ensure power toughness and sustainability, to prevent the occurrence of power shortage in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in the second half of 2022.
2. The temperature coefficient mainly affects the environmental efficiency of PHEV and EV with motor as power source. To minimize the effect of temperature on EVs, extreme temperature test, especially extreme low temperature test, is particularly important for EV. This kind of performance measurement should not just be done by vehicle manufactures like BYD, governments are supposed to participate in, as the impact of climate on cars will ultimately result in additional carbon emissions and reduced environmental efficiency in each province.
3. The congestion coefficient mainly affects the environmental efficiency of ICEV and HEV with internal combustion engine as power source. That is to say, with the increase of EV retention ratio in each province, the higher road congestion adaptability of EV makes it unnecessary for the government to increase the extra investment in traffic congestion relief However, this is under the assumption that the energy consumption of EVs and ICEVs does not change significantly.

 

9. Increased readability and accuracy

What is you mean in lines 235-236 by Thermal power generation encompasses various sources such as coal, natural gas, oil, biogas, garbage and biomass.

Please explain and clarify more.

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well considered the information we want to show from section 3.2.2. The sentence “Thermal power generation encompasses various sources such as coal, natural gas, oil, biogas, garbage and biomass.” repeats part of the previous paragraph (line 252-266)and has now been deleted. Thank you again for pointing out the mistake.

 

10. Strengthen flowchart presentation

Flowchart is beneficial; it’s also important to outline the methodology behind this new approach. Please consider more information and explanations for the suggested flowchart of your proposed approach at the beginning of your paper.

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well considered the information we have showed in flow chart and enhance the presentation of it. You can see them in the new addition to the first paragraph of Section 3.1, line 194-202.

11. Language and logic optimization

The authors should carefully proofread and edit the paper to correct typos and grammatical errors. They should consider having someone else review the paper for any errors that they may have missed.

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well checked the main page and some language and logic adjustments were made. On this basis, we also used the language service of MDPI to revise the language and presentation of the article, so as to present our research in a clearer logic and more reasonable text. The following is a proof of language polishing provided by MDPI.

 

 

12. Enrich literatures

Finally, relevant following papers from the MDPI journal should be used to demonstrate the research's relevance to the specific field of study:

1. A two-stage eco-efficiency evaluation of China’s industrial sectors: A dynamic network data envelopment analysis (DNDEA) approach. Process Safety and Environmental Protection. 2021 Apr 1; 148:879-92.
2. Developing a novel integrated generalised data envelopment analysis (DEA) to evaluate hospitals providing stroke care services. Bioengineering. 2021 Dec 10;8(12):207.
3. Environmental assessment of European Union countries. Energies. 2019 Jan 18;12(2):295.A novel machine learning approach combined with optimization models for eco-efficiency evaluation. Applied Sciences. 2020 Jul 28;10(15):5210.
4. Benchmarking Sustainable Manufacturing: A DEA-Based Method and Application. Energies. 2020 Nov 15;13(22):5962.
5. Carbon Emission Allocation in a Chinese Province-Level Region Based on Two-Stage Network Structures. Sustainability. 2019 Mar 5;11(5):1369.

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well reviewed the literatures mentioned above and added citations in these sentences:

1. In line 66-72, section 1. “Data envelopment analysis (DEA) can evaluate environmental efficiency of similar entities by multiple stage, multi-dimensional index and dynamic time[17]–[21], and it is organically combined DEA with other evaluation methods to make the evaluation models fit the practice[22],[23].”. “[18]” represents literature 3, “[19]” represents literature 1, “[21]” represents literature 4 and “[23]” represents literature 2.
2. In line 160-162, section 2.2. “. This more logical model more truly reflects the evaluation relationship and logical connection between the two processes and the whole process[49],[50].”. “[50]” represents literature 5

 

Thank you so much for your generous comments, which are all valuable and very helpful for revising and improving our paper!

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Dear Authors,

In your manuscript comprehensive results of vehicles environmental efficiency evaluation of different regions in China based on a combination of LCA and two-stage DEA methods are provided. There are several issues which should be taken into account in order to further improve your work:

-The title is not completed - "Vehicles environmental efficiency evaluation of different regional: a combination..." Something is missing "different China regions" or something else? Correct this!

- Consider providing a list of abbreviations with the explanations (e.g. BBC, CCR, etc.) or at least provide the explanation in the text during their first occurrence.

- Use commonly accepted (SI) notation for units (e.g. P5 in Table 2 instead of "KJ/kg" should be "kJ/kg").

- Unify the style of writing with or without leading 0 (e.g. P12 Tables 8, 9, 10, 11 ".175", "-.484", etc. but in the text 0.166 P12L349 even for the values of R2 written without 0 in Table 9!

- Not all tables from the "supporting material" are referenced in the manuscript.

Dear Authors,

- Correct typographical errors (e.g. Page 1 Line 32 "pollution; In", P1 L39 "For example, In", etc.).

 

- Use more formal English terminology (e.g. P7 L227 "municipal solid waste" or "waste" instead of "garbage").

Author Response

Response to the comments of Reviewer #3:

Thank you so much for the opportunity to revise our manuscript. Your suggestions are very helpful, enlightening, and precise for improving our paper. We have studied your comments carefully and have revised relevant parts. For your convenience, all the revisions made to the manuscript are highlighted in bright blue. Our responses to your comments are as following:

1. Title optimizing

In your manuscript comprehensive results of vehicles environmental efficiency evaluation of different regions in China based on a combination of LCA and two-stage DEA methods are provided. There are several issues which should be taken into account in order to further improve your work:

The title is not completed - "Vehicles environmental efficiency evaluation of different regional: a combination..." Something is missing "different China regions" or something else? Correct this!

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well considered the points and information we want to show from the title. The title has been modified and the new title is “Vehicle environmental efficiency evaluation in different regions in China: a combination of life cycle analysis (LCA) and two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) methods ”.

 

2. The prompts of abbreviations

Consider providing a list of abbreviations with the explanations (e.g. BBC, CCR, etc.) or at least provide the explanation in the text during their first occurrence.

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well checked the abbreviations we used in our work and found some abbreviations that are not correctly identified. We standardized the abbreviations and here are what we modified:

1. “slack-based model (SBM)” in line 85, section 1
2. “hybrid electric vehicle (HEV)” in line 111, section 2.1
3. “Banker-Charnes-Cooper model (BCC)” in line 155, section 2.2
4. “Charnes-Cooper-Rhodes model (CCR)” in line 156, section 2.2
5. “methane (CH4)” in line 208, section 3.1
6. “liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)” in line 226, section 3.2.1
7. “liquefied natural gas (LNG)” in line 249, section 3.2.1
8. “fuel consumption rate (FCR)” in line 317, section 3.3.1
9. “electricity consumption rate (ECR)” in line 317, section 3.3.1

 

3. Unify notation for units

Use commonly accepted (SI) notation for units (e.g. P5 in Table 2 instead of "KJ/kg" should be "kJ/kg").

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well checked the notation for units in our work and unified them in Table 2, Table 3, Table 4, Table 6 and other parts of our work.

 

4. Unify numeric representation

Unify the style of writing with or without leading 0 (e.g. P12 Tables 8, 9, 10, 11 ".175", "-.484", etc. but in the text 0.166 P12L349 even for the values of R2 written without 0 in Table 9!

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well checked the numeric representation in our work and unified them with leading 0 in Table 8, Table 9, Table 10, Table 11 and other parts of our work.

 

5. Simplified the supporting materials

Not all tables from the "supporting material" are referenced in the manuscript.

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well considered the information we want to show from the supporting materials. At first, we provided a large amount of supporting material in the hope that later researchers would replicate the study. The key data is referenced in main page and a lot of duplicate data is avoided, especially in supporting material 2 and 4. We simplified some data in supporting material 2, 3 and 4, but we still preferred to retain the rest of supporting materials for the sake of research integrity. We hope this explanation will satisfy you.

 

6. Language and logic optimization

Dear Authors,

- Correct typographical errors (e.g. Page 1 Line 32 "pollution; In", P1 L39 "For example, In", etc.).

- Use more formal English terminology (e.g. P7 L227 "municipal solid waste" or "waste" instead of "garbage").

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have used the language service of MDPI to revise the language and presentation of the article, so as to present our research in a clearer logic and more reasonable text. The following is a proof of language polishing provided by MDPI.

 

Thanks again for all the constructive comments and the opportunity to further develop this research. We sincerely appreciate the opportunity to further develop our work into a substantially better manuscript.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 4 Report

The text discusses the efforts to limit carbon emissions from the global transportation system by gradually adopting electric vehicles and plug-in electric vehicles. However, it points out that while these alternatives are effective in reducing emissions during usage, their overall environmental impact is not entirely eco-friendly. The production of batteries and electric motors can cause pollution, and the reliance on fossil fuels for electricity generation can lead to higher carbon emissions compared to conventional internal combustion engine vehicles. First of all, moderate editing of English is required in order to ease the reading of the article. The title "Vehicles environmental efficiency evaluation of different regional: a combination of LCA and two-stage DEA method" should be retitled. "Different regional" is not right and the acronyms LCA and DEA need prior clarification.

To evaluate the environmental efficiency and carbon emissions of EVs and PHEVs, the article uses the life cycle analysis (LCA) method. This approach has shown that the environmental efficiency of these vehicles varies across countries. However, applying national-level results to regional levels may not be practical due to various factors that influence environmental efficiency.

 

To overcome the limitations of simple LCA frameworks, the paper proposes a combined approach called LCA+DEA model. This integrated model aims to provide a more accurate evaluation of environmental efficiency and performance indicators for different regions and similar entities. However, using the LCA+DEA model comes with its own set of challenges.

 

The paper then focuses on analyzing carbon emissions and environmental efficiency differences across 30 provinces in China using the LCA+DEA model. It introduces a road congestion indicator to simulate various road conditions in different regions, making the evaluation of regional environmental efficiency more realistic. Nevertheless, this indicator merits further clarification.  

Overall, the paper attempts to address the complexities of evaluating the environmental impact of EVs and PHEVs, taking into account regional variations and other influencing factors. The relevance of these factors is not sufficiently discussed.

Moderate editing of English is required in order to ease the reading of the article. The title "Vehicles environmental efficiency evaluation of different regional: a combination of LCA and two-stage DEA method" should be retitled. "Different regional" is not correct and the acronyms LCA and DEA need prior clarification. In general, the text is not easily readable. The form of it must be double checked:

. "cannot be well done by"

. "cause more pollution; In energe stage"

. "is not ideal method"

. "components are consist of"

. "under the consideration regional or time differences"

. "urban roads and expressways"

. abuse of acronyms: "ICEVs, HEVs, PHEVs, and EVs, focusing on WTT link of energy extraction and TTW link of energy consumption"

. "power yearbook 2019 The integration"

. "as example, The contribution of thermal power"

. "as their fuel source. biomass gasoline"

 

Author Response

Response to the comments of Reviewer #4:

Thank you so much for the opportunity to revise our manuscript. Your suggestions are very helpful, enlightening, and precise for improving our paper. We have studied your comments carefully and have revised relevant parts. For your convenience, all the revisions made to the manuscript are highlighted in bright blue. Our responses to your comments are as following:

1. Title optimizing

The text discusses the efforts to limit carbon emissions from the global transportation system by gradually adopting electric vehicles and plug-in electric vehicles. However, it points out that while these alternatives are effective in reducing emissions during usage, their overall environmental impact is not entirely eco-friendly. The production of batteries and electric motors can cause pollution, and the reliance on fossil fuels for electricity generation can lead to higher carbon emissions compared to conventional internal combustion engine vehicles. First of all, moderate editing of English is required in order to ease the reading of the article. The title "Vehicles environmental efficiency evaluation of different regional: a combination of LCA and two-stage DEA method" should be retitled. "Different regional" is not right and the acronyms LCA and DEA need prior clarification..

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well considered the points and information we want to show from the title. The title has been modified and the new title is “Vehicle environmental efficiency evaluation in different regions in China: a combination of life cycle analysis (LCA) and two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) methods ”.

 

2. Presentation with more clarity

To evaluate the environmental efficiency and carbon emissions of EVs and PHEVs, the article uses the life cycle analysis (LCA) method. This approach has shown that the environmental efficiency of these vehicles varies across countries. However, applying national-level results to regional levels may not be practical due to various factors that influence environmental efficiency.

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well reviewed the content mentioned above and made adjustments in third paragraph of section 1, which mentioned the necessity of analysing regional levels.

 

3. More specific presentation

To overcome the limitations of simple LCA frameworks, the paper proposes a combined approach called LCA+DEA model. This integrated model aims to provide a more accurate evaluation of environmental efficiency and performance indicators for different regions and similar entities. However, using the LCA+DEA model comes with its own set of challenges.

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well considered the suggestion of revision and we reorganize the language and logic necessary to use the LCA+DEA model in fourth paragraph of section 1.

 

4. Clearer indicator merits

The paper then focuses on analyzing carbon emissions and environmental efficiency differences across 30 provinces in China using the LCA+DEA model. It introduces a road congestion indicator to simulate various road conditions in different regions, making the evaluation of regional environmental efficiency more realistic. Nevertheless, this indicator merits further clarification.

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well reviewed the content mentioned above and made adjustments to increase the clarification of the indicator in fifth paragraph of section 1: “In this study, we used LCA+DEA model to evaluate the carbon emissions and environmental efficiency differences across 30 provinces in China. We also created an indicator that could simulates different road conditions to reflects driving behavior in vehicle life cycle.”

 

5. Clearly demonstrate factor relationships

Overall, the paper attempts to address the complexities of evaluating the environmental impact of EVs and PHEVs, taking into account regional variations and other influencing factors. The relevance of these factors is not sufficiently discussed.

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well reviewed the content mentioned above and made adjustments to increase the relevance of the indicators in vehicles’ life cycles and the road congestion indicator that we created in our work. The modification is mainly showed in fifth paragraph of section 1:” (1) The two-stage slack-based model (SBM)-DEA method with LCA model to evaluate environmental efficiency of vehicles is combined, which is more consistent with the phase division of well-to-tank (WTT) and tank-to-wheel (TTW), to cover the full range of indicators to evaluate the vehicle life cycle as far as possible to and select key indicators for efficiency evaluation; (2) The road congestion indicator is constructed additionally to simulate different road conditions in different regions, which try to describe the ap-proximate driving conditions of vehicles in different provinces throughout their life cycles;”

 

6. Language and logic optimization

Moderate editing of English is required in order to ease the reading of the article. The title "Vehicles environmental efficiency evaluation of different regional: a combination of LCA and two-stage DEA method" should be retitled. "Different regional" is not correct and the acronyms LCA and DEA need prior clarification. In general, the text is not easily readable. The form of it must be double checked:

. "cannot be well done by"

. "cause more pollution; In energe stage"

. "is not ideal method"

. "components are consist of"

. "under the consideration regional or time differences"

. "urban roads and expressways"

. abuse of acronyms: "ICEVs, HEVs, PHEVs, and EVs, focusing on WTT link of energy extraction and TTW link of energy consumption"

. "power yearbook 2019 The integration"

. "as example, The contribution of thermal power"

. "as their fuel source. biomass gasoline"

Response: Thank you for your comments. We have well considered the information we want to show and double check the words and sentences used in the literature. The sentences marked is the modification in the newest version.

1. The title has been modified and the new title is “Vehicle environmental efficiency evaluation in different re-gions in China: a combination of the life cycle analysis (LCA) and two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) methods ”.
2. "cannot be well done by" has been adjusted to “it is difficult to assess” in line 11, abstract.
3. "cause more pollution; In energy stage" has been adjusted to “result in more pollution. In the energy generation stage” in line 36-38, section 1.
4. "is not ideal method" has been adjusted to “is not an ideal method” in line 12, in line 64-65, section 1.
5. "components are consist of" has been adjusted to “components consist of a” in line 116, section 2.1.
6. "under the consideration regional or time differences" has been adjusted to “in consideration of regional or time differences.” in line 127, section 2.1.
7. "urban roads and expressways" has been adjusted to “urban roads and highways” in line 140, section 2.1.
8. abuse of acronyms: "ICEVs, HEVs, PHEVs, and EVs, focusing on WTT link of energy extraction and TTW link of energy consumption" has been adjusted in line 194-202, section 3.1.
9. "power yearbook 2019 The integration" has been adjusted to “power yearbook 2019. The integration” in line 253-254, section 3.2.2.
10. "as example, The contribution of thermal power" has been adjusted to “as example, the contribution of thermal power” in line 257-258, section 3.2.2.
11. "as their fuel source. biomass gasoline" has been adjusted to “as their fuel source because biomass gasoline” in line 318-320, section 3.3.1.

 

On this basis, we also used the language service of MDPI to revise the language and presentation of the article, so as to present our research in a clearer logic and more reasonable text. The following is a proof of language polishing provided by MDPI.

 

Thank you so much for your constructive suggestions and high-quality review; we are honoured by this opportunity!

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Article has been improved and the authors has been ansered the reviewer satisfactorily, so the article can be published

Reviewer 2 Report

The authors answered all my concerns and this version is available for publication.

Moderate editing of the English language required.