Electric car industry hits back at emission report

The electric car industry has hit back at a new study suggesting "electric cars could speed climate change", arguing that the study understates the environmental benefits associated with electric vehicles and could undermine the embryonic market.

The report from the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) warns that the reliance on grid electricity to power electric vehicles means that electric cars have emissions of 106 grams of CO2 per kilometre - significantly less than average petrol car emissions of 172g/km, but more than low-emission vehicles such as the Toyota Prius, which has official emissions of 89g/km.

It also argues that a loophole in EU vehicle emissions legislation means that the development of electric cars could inadvertently lead to increased overall emissions from the transport sector in the short term.

Under the legislation, which was introduced late last year, electric cars are rated as zero carbon for the purposes of firms complying with the goal of ensuring average new car emissions are under 130g/km by 2012. Moreover, car firms producing electric cars receive so-called "super credits" that allow them to produce 3.5 SUVs for each electric vehicle they produce.

"The combined effect of these loopholes would be that car makers that choose to market electric cars to meet EU targets would have to do less to reduce emissions of conventional cars," the report states. "The overall effect would be higher CO2 emissions and oil use."

ETA director, Andrew Davis, said that the report was "not intended to dampen enthusiasm for electric vehicles". But he argued that "their introduction should not be viewed as a panacea; significant changes to the way we produce and tax power are needed before we will reap benefits".

However, the report quickly prompted headlines labelling electric cars as " dirty" and accusing them of harming the climate, resulting in an angry response from industry insiders who accused the study of failing to account for the long-term environmental benefits and lower "wheel-to-well" carbon emissions associated with electric vehicles.

"We have to keep going back to the basic message that electric cars are cleaner," said Barry Shrier, chief executive of Liberty Electric Cars. "Study after study has shown that the wheel-to-well emissions are much better – even if you produce electricity in the dirtiest way available using coal, life cycle emissions from electric vehicles are still 50 per cent lower than they are for internal combustion engines."

He added that electric vehicles also had the potential for their emissions to fall to nearly zero as electricity supplies are decarbonised. "Piston engine technologies will never be zero carbon," he said. "They are a dead end."

His comments were echoed by a spokesman for the Department of Transport who said that large numbers of electric cars could be supported as the grid infrastructure is improved.

"Electric cars powered from today's UK generating grid would save up to 40 per cent of the CO2 emissions of a conventional petrol car over its full life cycle," he said. "This saving can improve as the grid moves to using more low-carbon power sources. If demand for electricity is properly managed, through the use of smart meters and dynamic tariffs, the grid can support a relatively high number of Electric Vehicles. In fact, they can provide a way to capture and store electricity at night from renewable sources like wind power."

The concerns over the EU "loophole" are also largely unfounded, according to Shrier, who said that it represented an effective means of incentivising large auto manufacturers to transition to electric vehicles. "No one is expecting big companies to move overnight to only producing electric cars," he said. "But the way the super credits are structured gives them an incentive to start producing electric cars and they can then expand from there."

In related news, India-based electric car giant Reva, the company that supplies the popular G-Wiz in the UK, has inked a major deal with an Icelandic renewable energy firm to develop recharging infrastructure in the country.

Under the agreement, Northern Lights Energy (NLE) will have exclusive rights to distribute Reva's new NXR model and any consequent models. It will also work to develop a recharging infrastructure system and vehicle exchange service for the island in an attempt to support the wider adoption of electric vehicles.

NLE chairman, Gisli Gislason, said that Iceland had the potential to become a pioneering market for low-carbon vehicles. "Iceland is an island and with its advanced electric grid technology using 100 per cent renewable energy in electricity production is a perfect location for zero emission electric vehicles," he said, adding that in addition to selling electric vehicles the company was also working on a project to convert existing internal combustion engine cars into electric cars.