According to the Damning Research, it is found that, manufacturing of electric vehicles can itself generate 63 percent of more carbon dioxide, compared to petrol and diesel models.
This means, you need to drive zero- emission vehicle for around 50,000 miles before they turn green, since these cars are powered by fossil fuels.
This revelation has severely threatened the Prime Minister’s plan of achieving zero-emission by 2020 and banning the sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles.
The report also found that the production of All-Electric Polestar 2 by Volvo itself generates 24 tons of CO2, whereas its own Volvo XC40 a petrol engine vehicle generates 14 tons.
The research is a combined commission of Honda, Aston Martin, Bosch and McLaren. It says, “‘You would have to drive 48,700 miles in a Polestar 2 before its carbon footprint becomes smaller than a Volvo XC40. Similar results have been shown by studies conducted by Volkswagen comparing the e-Golf against the diesel Golf.’
In broader sense, the report says, these electric vehicles carry “no silver bullet” tags to help UK in achieving zero-emission mission. Instead, ministers should concentrate more on reducing emission during the production of the vehicle.
Labour MP Matt Western, chairman of 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.’
Auto bosses fear that targeting 2020-year green switch is over ambition when the current demand is hardly 0.3 per cent in Britain. Reasons behind this the high upfront cost and less car charging stations on residential roads.
In Britain, the starting price for electric cars is around £30,000, depending on the brand and other aspect. However, government is offering a discount of £3000 for £50,000 costing electric vehicle until 2023.
A Herculean Effort to adopt electric cars by 2030
Car manufacturing industry groups said it would be a “Herculean Effort” for UK to ban diesel and petrol cars by 2050 and adopt electric cars.
The planning to ban traditional vehicles were first announced in 2017, and was meant to take effect by 2040.
In the February, this the target was brought down to 2035. The UK government also promised:
- £1.3bn investment to install the charging points for electric vehicles in-home and streets.
- £582m for grants in buying zero or fewer emission vehicles to buy
- £500m to be spent for the next four years to develop electric vehicle batteries.