29 Mar 2010

Electric cars 'threaten' environment

11:42 pm on 29 March 2010

Electric cars are being described in a new report as a major environmental threat.

The cars are often less efficient and more polluting than the petrol cars that they replace, it says.

The study compared the Tesla electric sports car to its petrol-powered cousin, the Lotus Elise, because of their similarity.

It says in four out of five countries, the petrol car was found to be more efficient.

Only in New Zealand - where the majority of electricity that is produced is hydro based - was the electric car considered greener.

The report's author and editor of the Dog & Lemon Guide, Clive Mathew-Wilson, says the car industry is selling a false image of clean, green electric cars.

Mr Mathew-Wilson says these cars are not emission-free, as the pollution involved is simply transferred from the road to the power station.