How green is an electric car really? Its environmental impact

The debate about electric cars and the environment is often argued with facts taken out of context. To compare fairly, you need to look at the whole life cycle: production, use and what happens at the end.

Production: the EV starts at a disadvantage

Making the battery takes a lot of energy, so a new electric car leaves the factory with a larger carbon footprint than a petrol one. The difference is recovered over time, as the car drives with no tailpipe emissions.

Over the whole life cycle

A 2021 study by the independent organisation ICCT compared compact cars registered in Europe. Over their lifetime, an electric car’s greenhouse gas emissions came out 66–69% lower than those of a similar petrol car, including the battery’s production.

Where the electricity comes from matters

How clean an EV is depends on the electricity you charge it with. Romania does well here: in 2024, about 72% of the electricity produced in the country came from low-carbon sources, mainly hydropower (almost 30%), nuclear (around 20%), wind and solar.

The battery at end of life

• A battery that is no longer good enough for driving can get a second life as stationary energy storage.
• Valuable materials (lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper) can be recovered through recycling.
• The EU Battery Regulation, adopted in 2023, sets minimum targets for recovering these materials and for recycled content in new batteries.

And often the battery does not need replacing at all: in hybrids, a battery with a few weak modules can be repaired. We replace only what is faulty and keep the rest, which is better for your wallet and for the environment. See hybrid battery repair.

Other differences

• Brake dust drops sharply, because regenerative braking does most of the work.
• Tyres may wear a little faster because of the weight and high torque.
• In town, zero tailpipe emissions and less noise directly improve air quality.