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Electric Vehicles: Environment Protection

Asked by James McMurdockIndependentDepartment for TransportTabled Answered 19 March 2026UIN 120284

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the lifecycle environmental impact of electric vehicles.

Answered by Keir Mather

Lifecycle analysis of UK road vehicles, conducted by Ricardo Energy & Environment on behalf of the Department for Transport, shows that the lifetime carbon emissions of electric vehicles are lower than equivalent petrol and diesel vehicles. Over its lifetime, including manufacture, a battery electric car will save approximately 65% greenhouse gas emissions compared to an equivalent petrol car. As the UK’s electricity supply is increasingly decarbonised, savings are expected to grow to approximately 76% by 2030 and 81% by 2050. These lifecycle emissions reductions are consistent across vehicle types, with battery electric articulated heavy goods vehicles expected to save approximately 74-78% greenhouse gas emissions compared to equivalent diesel trucks by 2030. The study can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lifecycle-analysis-of-uk-road-vehicles.

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