A new report commissioned by a number of vehicle manufacturers has shown the multi-faceted issues around carbon emissions from EVs.
The study, dubbed Decarbonising Road Transport: There is no silver bullet 2020, from Honda, Aston Martin, McLaren and Bosch has a number of recommendations.
The study looked at the pure EV Polestar 2 which generates 24 tons of carbon dioxide during production compared to 14 tones for a comparable petrol-engine Volvo XC40.
It revealed you would need to drive some 48,700 miles in a Polestar 2 before its carbon footprint was smaller than the XC40. There were similar results conducted by VW comparing the e-Golf against its diesel model.
As a result, the report authors called on the government to ensure there is a reduction in emissions in the production process of EVs to ensure they are carbon neutral by the time they are on the road.
In the foreword to the report, Labour MP Matt Western, who is also chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Motor Group, said: “While a clear and achievable target for ending the sale of petrol and diesel cars is vital for the industry to prepare for a managed transition to a cleaner future, we should not be fooled into thinking this alone will solve the problem.
“We need to address the decarbonisation of both vehicle and fuel to have any real hope of meeting our CO2 reduction ambitions.”
