Only mini electric cars in the VCS environmental ranking: These electric cars are the most environmentally friendly

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Anyone who wants to know whether a car is environmentally friendly will usually find data from manufacturers only on direct emissions that occur during use. In marketing electric vehicles, people locally talk about emission-free driving. But even fully electric cars have hidden emissions, such as those released during the production of the vehicle or electricity. That’s why the Swiss Transport Club (VCS) sheds light on the issue with its annual environmental rankings and lists the best options.

Batteries are sources of emissions

High levels of particulate matter emissions in electric cars are primarily caused by battery production. Additionally, large amounts of water are needed to extract raw materials. This creates a paradoxical problem for electromobility: When larger batteries are produced to address the short range of electric vehicles, emissions during production simultaneously increase. This could even lead to some electric cars having similar levels of pollutant emissions as combustion-engine models over their service lives, according to VCS.

We present the top three in the VCS environmental rankings. The ranking is created using three values: Energy efficiency takes into account the electricity consumption determined during the WLTP process as the first value. Second, the size of the battery is saved; The larger the battery, the more pollutants are produced during its production. Finally, the noise caused by vehicles and emitted to the environment is measured.

Renault Twingo E-Tech is the top performer in the environmental rating. This is mainly thanks to its very small battery (22 kWh) which causes relatively few emissions. But this also leads to a short range. Thanks to efficient energy use (15.6 kWh/100 km), the small car can travel 178 kilometers according to WLTP. But the electric Twingo is not a bestseller: In 2023, only 349 registered Twingos were sold in Switzerland as the E-Tech version.

Dacia’s mini SUV has a better energy efficiency of 13.9 kWh per 100 kilometers compared to the Twingo E-Tech. It is still behind the Twingo in the rankings due to its larger battery. The bow can travel up to 230 kilometers with a 26.8 kWh battery. The affordable electric car (starting from 19,990 Swiss francs) was better received by Swiss customers than the Twingo: Dacia managed to sell 495 vehicles in 2023. Its fancier successor will be released this summer.

Fiat’s Citystromer 500e also made it to the winners’ podium in the most environmentally friendly electric cars category. Due to its size, the 500e has the best energy efficiency in the top three, consuming an average of 13 kWh per 100 kilometers. The 23.8 kWh battery of the weaker 70 kW version is slightly larger than the Twingo and can take the small car up to 190 kilometers. The Fiat 500e, which has a 42 kWh battery (range up to 320 km) and is also available in a more powerful 87 kW version, was delivered to customers a total of 1,676 times in 2023.

The most environmentally friendly electric cars of 2023

Market leader’s performance is poor

You can find an overview of all electric cars evaluated at eco-auto.info. However, Switzerland’s current market leaders are not reflected in this ranking. Currently, only the Fiat 500e ranks ninth among the 15 best-selling electric cars. Tesla’s Model Y, the best-selling electric vehicle in Switzerland in 2023, performed well in the VCS assessment in terms of energy efficiency of only 15.7 kWh/100 km. Large battery (60 kWh) and noise (70 dB) were rated “poor”. The biggest advantage of the model is its range of 455 kilometers; but considering the VCS criteria, it is too much to be an environmentally friendly electric vehicle.

Source: Blick