Measuring the true impact of electric vehicles

A few years ago, a story began spreading that the Toyota Prius hybrid consumed more energy over its lifetime than the vast Hummer H3 off-roader. This claim was rapidly debunked, but it did raise an interesting question: Just how green are hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs) once you factor in everything from material extraction to end-of-life recycling?

Various engineering consultancies and non-profit organisations have released comparative studies into the lifecycle impact of EVs versus combustion-engine models. But Volvo-spinoff Polestar recently became the first car manufactured to do so publicly, with an in-depth lifecycle assessment (LCA) that compares its own all-electric Polestar 2 with the petrol-only version of the Volvo XC40.

“The results of this study are important, but equally important for us was to publish our methodology,” explained Lisa Bolin, climate lead for Polestar. “When I looked at the work that was out there already, I was quite surprised – coming from a research background – at how difficult it was to follow the methodology. So we set out with our colleagues at Volvo to put together a lifecycle assessment that was completely transparent.”