Are Electric Vehicles Always Better for the Environment?

Abstract

Electric vehicles have been touted for their environmental friendliness, as their carbon emissions are significantly reduced during the usage phase compared to traditional petrol vehicles. However, from a lifecycle perspective, it is necessary to examine how the components of electric vehicles are obtained, constructed, operated, maintained, and disposed to better inform of their impact on the environment. Moreover, the environment's focus is often on the impact of carbon emissions but less on other forms of environmental impact such as ecotoxicity to marine life.

To better study the carbon emission reduction effect of electric vehicles throughout their entire lifecycle and their other environmental impacts, the petrol, and electric versions of the SAIC Roewe i6 MAX vehicles in China will be compared throughout their entire lifecycles, including raw material collection, transportation, manufacturing, usage, and disposal processes. The results for the diesel and hybrid vehicles will also be briefly covered for comparisons purposes.

The study showed that the breakeven point for carbon emission between petrol vehicles and electric vehicles is at about 2.8 years for use in China. This means that electric vehicles produce more carbon emission in the manufacturing/ assembly and only after 2.8 years of usage, that they emit less carbon emissions than petrol cars. As expected, the carbon emissions of diesel and hybrid cars fell in between these two, with hybrid vehicles performing better than diesel vehicles. However, electric vehicles produced the worst marine toxicity, with hybrid cars being second.