The Environment and Energy Management Agency (Ademe) has published a new opinion on electric cars according to which this type of vehicle has a carbon impact two to three times lower than that of a thermal car on its entire life cycle. But beware, for the electric car to be truly considered a more virtuous solution for the environment, Ademe insists that it must be compact (Peugeot e-208 or Renault Megane E-Tech type) and equipped with a battery of less than 60 kWh (enough to offer, currently, autonomy of the order of 300 to 400 km). Indeed, according to the conclusions of the agency’s experts, the environmental benefit of larger, heavier sedans and SUVs equipped with larger batteries is not guaranteed.
“Compared to a compact diesel sedan, the carbon debt is reimbursed after approximately 15,000 km for a small electric city car type vehicle, whereas it is only reimbursed after 100,000 km for a high-end electric SUV. range. Indeed, the carbon impact of an electric vehicle increases almost proportionally to its weight, itself strongly impacted by the storage capacity of its battery”explains the organization.
City cars much more virtuous than SUVs
Therefore, Ademe directs motorists able to switch to electric to move towards the smallest and lightest vehicles, those able to be used for daily journeys and not necessarily for departures on vacation. They can also save money.
According to the agency’s calculations, a new electric vehicle equipped with a battery of around 60 kWh already costs less than an equivalent thermal model, despite its higher purchase price, due to the price of higher and higher fuel prices at the pump. If fast charging stations are expensive (and are even more expensive than gasoline per kilometer in some cases), favoring home charging can lower the bill. On average, today, the 300 km traveled in electric in the type of car acclaimed by Ademe cost 10 €. Again, the equation reverses for many heavier and more powerful electric cars, SUVs, sedans or sports cars.
In its figures for July 2022, Ademe estimates the fleet of electric vehicles in France at 620,000 vehicles, which represents 1.5% of cars in circulation. According to its forecasts, the first big take-off of the market could take place in a few years, once the second-hand market will be well supplied with available models, which effectively means waiting for the end of the current leasing contracts since almost all electric car sales are made through long-term leasing, with or without a purchase option.
The place of the car to be rethought
But, as the agency points out, the electrification of the car fleet cannot be the only answer to the climate challenge and the energy crisis. Thus, if we really want to have an impact on pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector, it is the place of the car in our society and our movements that we must rethink. Either a questioning of the “all peripheral” imposing the use of the car on millions of French people and the need to reinvent certain lifestyles and consumption, so as to favor as much as possible soft and active mobility, from walk to public transport, via bicycle. As for carpooling and car-sharing, they are for Ademe an excellent way to reinforce the ecological interest of the electric vehicle.