A new report from the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy claims that the most environmentally friendly car on the market is actually a plug-in hybrid — not an electric car.
This runs counter to a large amount of previous research that claims the excellence of the electric car from an environmental point of view.
More specifically, it has been concluded that the new Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid is the most environmentally friendly car.
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More than just the fuel
The report, which has been produced by ACEEE for Greener Carsanalyzes 1,200 cars on the US market.
According to it, the car’s environmental impact is about more than what it is powered by, and choosing an electric car is thus not automatically an environmental act. Factors such as total weight, battery size and efficiency also come into play, and excessively large, heavy electric cars are thus not necessarily good for the climate.
That the Toyota Prius ends up high on the list is justified by its technology, body shape and weight. It says Peter Hueter on ACEEE to The Washington Post.
However, electric car researcher Gil Tak at the University of California disagrees with the results of the study. – I don’t think the Prius Prime is the greenest car. If you can buy an all-electric car, that’s always the best, he told The Washington Post.
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After the Toyota Prius in the top list, small electric cars such as the Lexus RZ 300e, Mini Copper SE and Nissan Leaf end up. The next plug-in hybrid after the Toyota Prius on the list is the brand’s sibling RAV4 in sixth place.
The study thus does not indicate that electric cars are drastically less environmentally friendly than plug-in hybrids. Judging from the study, the Toyota group seems to know how to build an environmentally friendly car, as they account for as many as five of the ten most environmentally friendly cars.
At the other end of the scale, it was unsurprisingly found that the least environmentally friendly cars are gigantic ditons that run on petrol.
According to the study, the most environmentally damaging car is the Mercedes-AMG G63 SUV, followed by the muscle-pickers Ram 1500 TRX 4×4 and Ford F-150 Raptor R.
The top-10 list of the most environmentally unfriendly cars is large, heavy and gasoline-powered, with the exception of the 4.5-tonne Hummer EV electric car, which qualifies for ninth place.
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