Why electric vehicles can’t make a global trend

And what has global warming to do with it

Electric vehicles seem a fashionable green, safe and stylish solution for the future. But attaining this future turns out to be rather complicated for some reasons.

It is expensive and very resource demanding

Serial production of electric vehicles would require a great deal of natural resources, as they run on electric rechargeable batteries using chemical reaction between copper, lithium, cobalt and other metals. Some electric vehicles experts notice a resource-intensive nature of such vehicles production in contrast to traditional vehicles with an internal combustion engine.

For example, to transit to electric transport completely, Great Britain would consume 50% of yearly global copper production. And it is one country only.

As for now, electric vehicles account for about 5% of the total amount of passenger vehicles. High production costs mean high selling prices — another discouraging factor for potential buyers. There were several occasions when some big car manufacturers found the idea of electric vehicles unprofitable.

It is economically disadvantageous in some countries

For countries economically dependent on oil and gas export switching to electric vehicles may lead to a consecutive recession in gasoline demand and therefore lowering oil prices. Despite a highly diversified “black gold” market, for some countries the situation can turn advantageous. Among them are main producers of natural resources required for manufacturing and operation of electric vehicles.

In this regard a good example is China, controlling about half of global lithium production and about 85% of global cobalt supplies, important components of electric batteries. About 70% of the world’s rare earth elements is exploited in China, including neodymium, another important component of electric engines.

Plus, it would not only increase demand for electricity but require new huge production capacities of renewable energy sources. Add a consequent increase of electricity prices, while in some parts of the world tariffs are already high, for example in New York.

It will not help against the global warming

The global 2020 lockdown showed that atmospheric pollution is mostly owed not to fuel-consuming vehicles or airplanes, but to various power plants and factories essential for our everyday life.

Electric vehicles production is much more energy-consuming compared to vehicles with internal combustion engines and contributes to CO2 emissions. A catch-22 situation.

Cleaner energy sources and waste-free or low-waste manufacturing processes could be more beneficial to curb global warming, than wide-spreading of electric cars.