Status: 06.07.2023 1:03 p.m
According to a survey by #NDR asked, six out of ten participants currently do not want to buy an electric car. One reason: Doubts about the climate balance. Are the reservations justified?
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Above all, it is the comparatively high prices that seem to keep people from buying an electric car. The price is given first place in the survey as a reason. But it’s also the range and the lack of charging infrastructure – and for many people the electricity is too expensive.
However, the result of the survey is not representative because the NDR only asked in the #NDRfrage community. 13,000 people took part.
How climate-friendly are electric cars really?
There were also surprising results – for example that the majority of those surveyed do not believe that electric cars are better for the environment than combustion engines. The doubts about the positive environmental balance of electric cars are therefore great. This coincides with other assessments: because how climate-friendly an e-car is depends on many criteria. Among other things, whether you operate the e-car with green electricity or electricity from your own photovoltaic system – or whether you use the usual electricity mix, which consists of almost 50 percent fossil energy. But it is also undisputed that anyone who wants to can operate an e-car free of carbon dioxide emissions. This is not possible with a combustion vehicle.
Further information
#NDR asked: More than half do not consider e-cars to be more environmentally friendly than combustion engines. more
Vehicle size is an important part of the bill
When looking at the overall environmental footprint, the size of the vehicle also matters. Resource consumption drops significantly when it comes to a small “city runabout”. The balance sheet for an SUV with a weight of two and a half tons and a 600 hp engine looks completely different. The same applies here: An e-car has advantages, especially in large cities, because there are no exhaust gases, no nitrogen dioxide emissions and it is also quieter than a combustion car.
AUDIO: Survey: Six out of ten participants do not want an electric car (7 min)
EU: The recyclability of battery components must improve
However, apart from the electricity mix used, e-cars are not emission-free. Particulate matter, for example, also occurs in electric cars due to brake and tire wear. Another important issue is the use of raw materials in the manufacture of the cars and whether these can be reused later when the car is no longer on the road. The rates are 85 to 95 percent – for all cars, including electric cars. The main focus here is on the batteries, where the rate is currently not that high. For battery components such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and copper, the recyclability rate is currently around 50 percent. The rate must increase significantly in the future – from 2031, the EU will require that 80 to 95 percent of the battery components can be recycled.
Further information
The plant is to supply enough lithium for the batteries of 850,000 electric vehicles. There is support from the state. (06/29/2023) more
E-car batteries are harmful to the environment – but so is oil production
The question of where the battery components come from also plays a role in the environmental and social compatibility balance of e-cars. Because the raw materials come largely from countries where they are extracted under poor conditions. Cobalt comes mainly from the Congo, lithium partly from China. On the other hand, oil production – including fracking – is anything but environmentally friendly for conventional vehicles. In the future, new battery types that do not require lithium or cobalt could also become more important.
Are electric cars better or not?
All in all, e-cars are already more climate-friendly than combustion engines. Not immediately when you buy a new car, but over the entire expected lifetime of the car. Even then, the situation is steadily improving. Four years ago, a study by the ADAC stated that electric cars were only more climate-friendly than gasoline-powered cars after they had driven around 120,000 kilometers. This study was renewed a few months ago. Now it says that e-cars are more climate-friendly after 50,000 kilometers, and when using green electricity after 25,000 kilometers.
Finally, however, it is also important that individual transport will never be the most environmentally friendly solution. What is really needed are new mobility concepts with more public transport and really environmentally friendly means of transport such as bicycles.
Further information
Stay with the combustion engine or switch to electromobility? Experts helped with the decision in the NDR Info Livestream. more
The cities with the largest proportion of e-cars in Lower Saxony are VW locations and have some of the highest disposable incomes. more
Required range, available charging stations, battery condition: buyers of used e-cars should take this into account. more
The district of Cloppenburg is testing how intelligent charging can benefit consumers, power grids and the environment. more
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NDR Info | Economy | 06.07.2023 | 8:42 a.m