The environmental impact of the transition from plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) to battery electric vehicles (BEV) is examined in this study by conducting full life cycle assessments (LCA) on both types of vehicles. The study of the PHEV includes an examination of its operation just as a regular hybrid. In this study, the BEV is modeled by a Tesla Model 3 and the PHEV by a Ford Escape PHEV. The LCAs account for the environmental impact of the material extraction, material transportation, material processing, component manufacturing, vehicle assembly, vehicle transportation to showrooms, vehicle operation, vehicle disposal and recycling process. A city drive cycle, highway drive cycle, and combined drive cycle are considered for vehicle operation. The energy and carbon dioxide emissions from this entire life cycle are calculated to get an accurate representation of the true cradle-to-grave environmental impact of these vehicles. The results are compared assuming different sources of electricity: solar, wind, natural gas, and coal. It is shown that the source of electricity and the drive cycles have a significant impact on the conclusions. For example, considering 300,000 km of operation for city driving and 30% recovered regenerative braking energy, the CO2 emissions for operation of the PHEV is about 20% higher than that of the BEV. This is independent of the source of electricity. Of course, the actual CO2 values will be very different for each source. In the case of the highway drive cycle, however, the differences vary dramatically based on the source of electricity. When the source of electricity is solar, the PHEV CO2 emissions are about a factor of 5 greater for operation, but when the source of electricity is coal, the CO2 emissions are greater by only about 30%. This suggests that the impact of using BEV instead of PHEV or just regular hybrids on the environment is dependent on the part of the country where these vehicles are used and their modes of operation. The results of this research show the true ecological impact that electrification of vehicles can have.