Vehicle electrification has been rapidly promoted to aid the conventional energy shortage and reduce environmental pressures for light-duty passenger vehicles (LDPVs). Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are well positioned in the electric vehicle market. This article presents a cradle-to-grave assessment of energy consumption, CO₂ emissions and emissions of VOC, CO, NO_x, primary PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ for current (2015) and future (2020 and 2030) LDPVs in Hebei Province, China. The analysis addressed both the fuel life cycle and vehicle life cycle for conventional gasoline and battery electric LDPVs. A scenario analysis was carried out to evaluate the reduction potentials of different future policies. The results showed that the promotion of BEVs could effectively mitigate per-kilometer petroleum use by 98% and fossil fuel use by 25–50% relative to gasoline LDPVs. BEVs hold obvious advantages in CO₂, VOCs, CO, NO_x and PM_2.5 emissions reduction, while the PM₁₀ emissions of BEVs are higher than those of conventional internal combustion engine vehicles, mainly due to the high emission in the upstream industry process in electricity generation. The scenario analysis showed that the emissions of VOCs, CO, NO_x, PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ will decrease by 56%, 70%, 27%, 24% and 17%, respectively, with the China Ⅵ oil standard coming into force in 2030 instead of 2020. The results stress that more stringent emission controls, higher BEV penetration, and cleaner electricity should be jointly applied to ensure a successful electrification future in China.