Are Electric Cars REALLY That Green? [New 2022 Data]

Most of us assume electric cars are better for the environment than petrol or diesel, but new figure published by Volvo seem too suggest electric vehicles may not be as green as their internal combustion engine counterparts in the short term.

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[TrumanBurbankFE]

If you really care about the environment, keep your current car and drive it untill it falls apart. Every time you buy a new car, the cost of emissions, materials, minerals are huge.

[abelspringbok]

Reminds me of Luxembourg where 35 years ago we were told that diesel cars were the only way to go and where we even received subsidies to buy diesel engined cars. Fast foreward to around 2010 and suddenly we were being told that diesel was bad and to be avoided at all costs. The moral of the story is don't believe all the things that politicians say to you!

[SilverSurfer]

Rory talks a lot of sense. Well-balanced and properly thought-out views put forward. Respect.

[jamiekeith]

Would be interesting to see a comparison to replacing an engine in a 15 year old car (or other major repairs) to keep it going compared to having a new car manufactured, and what sort of 'break even' number there would be. That would keep it out of the land fill, as well as reduce a lot of mining, manufacturing etc.

[jonathantaylor]

It's great that an EVangelist, like yourself, Rory can be open and balanced when it comes to discussions like these - big respect for such fabulous content, dude 😎

[ikemotosystems]

Volvo released the study in the name of transparency. It gives the numbers that people can actually refer to, and does so in an impartial way. This is what we need more of.

[jordanimatedstreaming]

low income individuals cannot afford to buy an EV. i'm concerned that gasoline will be a tax on the poor in the near future.

[Fred-mvfx]

I'm not overly concerned about the green-ness honestly. Instant torque is fun and easy to use. I have ample solar on my roof so it's free to drive. When I subtract gas and maintenance costs from my truck to my EV, I come out ahead.

[ChiefMac]

You're absolutely right that efficiency of EVs is a key to reducing overall impact. My 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Electric gets 5 miles/kWh, where the new Hyundai Ioniq 5 only gets around 2.5 miles/kWh, because it's huge, heavy and not aerodynamic! That's going backwards...

[FieryToast]

The comments are gonna be interesting to check back on for this one 😅

[anthonyc]

A nuanced and reasonable discussion on a contentious topic? Tell me it isn't so!
Seriously though, this was an enlightening video and hats off to Volvo for the study, even if people don't like its conclusion. Volvo has identified room for improvement and it's important to note how quickly technology and industry changes the equation.

[KangaRooTube]

The best option at the moment i think is to keep using existing cars and to try and keep them going for as long as possible. Maybe try and make it easier a cheaper to repair existing cars aswell.

[davidanddeborahcohen]

I’m glad you identified that electricity production is getting greener & battery production will too. On the flip side, crude oil is becoming dirtier to obtain. Here in the U.S. we’re using off-shore drilling which has had massive spills & fracking which decimates the environment.

[boeingdriver]

I’ll be sticking with ICE until it’s no longer an option. Loving my M2 CS.

[JanBoshoff]

It would be great if there was also a conversation about the environmental impacts not directly related to CO2, such as the ecological impact of mining for the raw materials and the real world battery disposal/recyclability. Dealing with damaged batteries such as in crashes are also a major issue which we don't seem to want to talk about.

[Treblaine]

65'000 miles from even a small high efficiency ICE car like a Ford Focus releases 14 metric tonnes of CO2, the same range on a similar sized electric car like a Nissan Leaf releases barely 4 metric tonnes, it takes some incredible torture of the numbers to get such a large difference in manufacturing carbon footprint.

The "trick" Volvo is pulling is using an extremely large battery manufactured in the most environmentally damaging way possible but without the equivalent for the ICE car they use for comparison. Like an aluminium engine block could be made in the same country as the battery (where most electricity comes from coal power stations) and get similarly massive carbon footprint costs.

[CameronJay]

This is one of the best monologues I've heard about EV's V ICE - thanks Rory, very well said.

[esparauto]

In Soviet Union, when I was a child, I remember that there were no junkyards for cars. As Cars were deficit, they always got repaired and put into use again and again, and again. When the Soviet Union collapsed, we started to import 15 to 25 year old cars from the West and drove them happily, since those cars were much better than Lada and Moskvitch, which we were accustomed to. Where I am heading with this? Well, now I wanted to remember my youth and recently bought a 35 years old Volvo 740 and realised two things: 1) It is simply impossible that 35 years old electric car cold be operational, while Volvo of the same age can be used daly with no problem nicely. 2) It is much more greener to buy used car, then to buy a new electric car, since, utilising any car and especially an electric car, it pollutes. So, if we want to pollute less with our cars, buy used, fix old, make manufacturers produce less and at the same time more durable and long lasting cars.

[dieselmutt]

Great presentation on this. One thing I didn't hear mentioned unless I just missed it is about what happens once an EV's battery has reached it's life cycle. If it becomes another thing that that has to be disposed of them that comes with additional environmental and cost impact. If they can somehow be recycled then there likely is still environmental and cost impact but in a different way.

[bigmalcvids]

By far the best car reviewer there is….you can’t help but listen to this lad., even if your not particularly into the car that he is reviewing.Well done.👊👏👍