Taking into account the entire life cycle, an electric vehicle produces 25-71% fewer emissions than a vehicle with an internal combustion engine.

There is an urgent need to accelerate the adoption of electric mobility: transport generates 30% of greenhouse gases worldwide, with private internal combustion vehicles accounting for 18%.

Electric vehicle charging infrastructure in Mexico grew 23% in the second quarter of the year, reaching 39,257 positions.

According to INEGI, the historical number of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids sold in the country now reaches more than 64,124 units (as of the end of August 2024).

On this September 9, World Electric Vehicle Day, it is worth talking about electric vehicles, which are gaining more and more acceptance in the world. The news is that electric mobility, as an irreversible macro trend, has proven that it emits less greenhouse gases than internal combustion vehicles, even taking into account its entire life cycle, regardless of how the energy it consumes is generated.

Some analysts have expressed skepticism about the overall emissions savings from electric vehicles, especially considering what is emitted during their manufacture and the origin of the electricity that powers them.

This means that if the electricity came from coal- or oil-fired power plants, the emissions savings from not using combustion would not be so obvious. This is true, but a recent study by BloombergNEF, a think tank specializing in new energy sources, fully confirms that the advantage of electric vehicles over combustion cars exists and will be even greater by 2030.

The organisation has measured in detail the total emissions caused by both types of vehicles, electric and combustion engines, from their production to the end of their service life. The study was conducted in five countries (USA, Germany, UK, China and Japan) with different conditions of their production and energy use. The big difference is in the generation of electricity by different means, from coal to solar energy.

As a result, taking into account the entire life cycle, an electric car produces 25 to 71 percent fewer emissions than a car with an internal combustion engine. The difference is smallest in China, a country that uses coal more intensively for energy production. The biggest gains are in the United States, a country that still favors big, gas-guzzling cars.

Another good news is that this advantage will grow in the future. By 2030, the increased use of renewable technologies in electricity generation will further reduce the carbon footprint of electric vehicles. For example, Evergo has already installed solar power plants in the Dominican Republic.

And that’s not counting the potential technological advances in the vehicles themselves and their batteries that could cement electric mobility as one of the best environmental strategies of the 21st century.

Clean mobility is urgently needed

Ooh, we need to step up the pace. According to Carbon Monitor, which aims to measure these emissions in real time, the world increased its carbon dioxide emissions by 0.1% in 2023 compared to the previous year. While the US reduced its emissions by 2.2% and the European Community achieved a 5.1% reduction, China increased them by 3%, according to the initiative.

In turn, the Global Carbon Project study, promoted by 90 institutions around the world, shows the worst result; emissions amounted to 40.9 billion tons, an increase of 1.1%. In any case, CO2 emissions will not develop in the direction envisaged by the Paris Agreement.

It should be noted that, according to UN-Habitat, transport generates 30% of greenhouse gases worldwide, with private internal combustion vehicles accounting for 18%.

Given these facts, the incentive to move towards green mobility is clear, and electric vehicles are proving to be one of the best alternatives available to humanity.

In Mexico, according to the Mexican Electric Mobility Barometer, a report prepared by the Electric Mobility Association (EMA), the electric vehicle charging infrastructure in Mexico increased by 23% in the second quarter of the year, reaching 39,257 positions. This growth reflects significant progress in the adoption of electric mobility in the country, since, according to the latest data from the National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Information Science (INEGI), the cumulative number of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids sold is more than 64,124 units (from January 1, 2016 to August 31, 2024).