Shortly after stating that he fails to see an economically viable way to produce electric vehicles, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles chief executive Sergio Marchionne says current EVs aren’t as clean as many people think.
Speaking to CNBC earlier this week, Marchionne said it is extremely important to consider the power and fossil fuels often used to build EVs.
“I think that if you don't do the full analysis of what the origin of the electrical power is, where it comes from, how you get batteries into these cars, what the cost is in terms of CO2 and the environment, I think the analysis that we are going to save the planet with electric cars is nonsense
“If the base of that electrical production is nuclear, then I have zero issue. We'll all be doing the right thing but you are embracing nuclear power as the solution to your problems. If you are relying on fossil fuels to produce it, I think the issue is much bigger,” Marchionne said.
These statements aren’t uncommon for the outspoken executive who infamously encouraged people not to buy the Fiat 500e because he was losing so much money on it.
Ever since electric vehicles began to hit the mainstream, there have been concerns raised about the energy required to produce them and the precious metals used in the construction of batteries.
In July, Bloomberg found that the average EV built in the U.S. has about half the greenhouse gas impact of a conventional car over its life. In China, however, there is a 50 per cent increase in greenhouse gas emissions and total energy consumption over a petrol or diesel vehicle, all because of the dirty energy sources used to build electric vehicles in the country.
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