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Electric car production creates up to 70% more emissions than petrol equivalent

The environmental benefit of electric cars may never be felt – with their production creating up to 70 per cent more emissions than their petrol equivalent.

Electric cars need to be used for tens of thousands of miles before they offset the higher releases, with VW’s e-Golf becoming more environmentally friendly only after 77,000 miles, according to the manufacturer’s own figures.

But there are fears that many such vehicles will never hit their mileage target as owners upgrade to newer models, leaving swathes of used electric cars sitting unwanted on garage forecourts.

The vast majority of car purchases in the UK are made using credit plans, which offer customers the chance to swap their car for a new vehicle after a three-year term, which is unlikely to be enough time to offset the emissions.

Personal Contract Purchases (PCP) boomed in popularity thanks to the rock-bottom interest rates of the past decade and allowed consumers to pay off their car in monthly instalments.

Britain’s car finance obsession could undermine the climate goals of the Government, as a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars looms in 2030.

Ministers hope the ban – which extends to hybrid cars by 2035 – will be a decisive factor in the country reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Yet electric vehicles (EVs) can play a role in this goal only if they remain on the road long enough.