E-cars currently account for just under 20% of new registrations worldwide. The higher emissions during the production of e-cars are more than compensated for in the use phase.
Controlled and bidirectional charging also improve the environmental footprint of electric cars. Other environmental issues, such as the use of critical raw materials, still pose challenges for e-cars. Current top e-car models offer a range of at least 400 kilometers. Many drivers consider this distance to be sufficient, partly because charging times are becoming shorter and shorter. Forecasts assume that sufficient recycling capacity for end-of-life batteries and production waste will be available in the long term.
By 2035, up to 30% of the demand for lithium, nickel and cobalt for battery cell production could be covered by recycled materials. Although the extinguishing effort for electric vehicles is even greater, according to current knowledge they do not burn more frequently than conventional cars. Many studies point to a significant decline in employment in the automotive and supplier industry - not least because battery cell production is highly automated. Conversely, jobs created in other sectors could compensate for the decline, for example in the areas of power generation and charging infrastructure.
