Why your EV might not be saving the planet
The rush to Electric Vehicle (EV) ‘adoption’ surged globally following the outbreak of the war in Iran and the subsequent spike in fuel prices. In Europe, new EV registrations rose by roughly 34 per cent year-on-year (YoY) across 17 major markets, while some automakers like Renault reported a 50 per cent jump in their EV order books.
Here in Australia, new EV uptake jumped nearly 50 per cent in the first month of the conflict, nearly doubling YoY sales to account for 14.6 per cent of all new car sales.
That these buyers weren’t buying before the war began might say something about motivations: less about being environmentally friendly and more about saving the hip pocket.
Recently, Pauline Hanson offered a subtle dig at EVs amid a broadside against net-zero policies in her Press Club speech. Pointing out the mass of cheap EVs’ interiors, which are predominantly plastic and made from petroleum and other fossil fuels, Hanson highlighted an irony in the zero-emissions claim made by EV proponents.
Table 1. Weight comparisons
| Brand & Model | ICE variant curb weight | EV variant curb weight | Weight difference (EV vs. ICE) |
| Volkswagen Golf vs. ID.3 (Closest EV equivalent) | ~1,380 kg | ~1,810 kg | +430 kg ~31 per cent heavier |
| Volvo XC40 / EX40 | ~1,670 kg | ~2,040 kg | +370 kg ~22 per cent heavier |
| Kia Niro | ~1,405 kg | ~1,739 kg | +334 kg ~24 per cent heavier |
| BMW X3 vs. iX3 | ~1,930 kg | ~2,360 kg | +430 kg ~22 per cent heavier |
| Porsche Macan | ~1,920 kg | ~2,330 kg | +410 kg ~21 per cent heavier |
| GMC Hummer EV vs. Sierra (Heavy Duty ICE relative) | ~2,550 kg | ~4,110 kg | +1,560 kg ~61 per cent heavier |
| Fiat 500 / 500e | ~1,005 kg ( | ~1,365 kg | +360 kg ~35 per cent heavier |
| Mercedes-Benz GLA vs. EQA | ~1,570 kg | ~2,040 kg | +470 kg ~30 per cent heavier |
| Lexus UX / UX 300e | ~1,540 kg | ~1,840 kg | +300 kg ~19 per cent heavier |
On average, an EV built on a shared platform with an internal combustion engine car weighs roughly 15 per cent to 25 per cent more than its Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) counterpart. The weight comes from the EV battery pack, which typically adds 300 kg to 700 kg to a vehicle. And while removing the engine, exhaust, and transmission saves some weight, it rarely, if ever, offsets the massive footprint of the battery cells.
As an aside, ground-up EVs (like Tesla’s or Hyundai’s Ioniq line) generally manage weight slightly better because they don’t have to carry structural reinforcements meant for an engine bay; however, they remain significantly heavier than similarly sized ICE vehicles.
That additional weight must come from somewhere. Where, you ask?
The International Energy Agency (IEA) notes EVs require at least six times the mineral content – think graphite, nickel, lithium and cobalt – of an ICE vehicle during production.
That EVs are worse for the environment seems to be the conclusion of Melbourne-based Frontier Economics. The independent economics consultancy is reportedly researching “whether Australian consumers should be protected from unknowingly supporting environmental damage through their purchase of EVs, especially from manufacturers who source raw minerals from suppliers who have poor environmental practices.”
Frontier Economics published a report last year, Under the Hood, which examined the broader environmental, social, and governance (ESG) implications and hidden costs of electric vehicles to better inform policymakers and consumers about the true costs of their choices.
Pointing out that EV adoption would “drive a massive increase in mining activity … along with other significant environmental impacts associated with mining,” the report added, “Meeting this demand will require significantly more mining activity and place greater environmental pressure on mineral-rich locations – oftentimes in locations far away and out of sight of EV consumers.”
Already, hundreds of thousands of hectares of Indonesian rainforests are set to be wiped out around Weda Bay, where China sources much of the nickel required to assemble EVs using electricity generated by coal-fired power stations.
Indonesia holds the world’s largest nickel reserves, and because these deposits sit in shallow layers beneath the soil, mining requires widespread strip-mining (clear-cutting entire landscapes). Conservatively, nickel mining has already destroyed over 75,000 hectares of Indonesian rainforest, with an additional 500,000 hectares currently within active mining concessions – threatening areas such as Halmahera Island (home to the Weda Bay Industrial Park, or IWIP) and Sulawesi.
Refining raw Indonesian nickel into battery-grade material requires extreme heat. To power these remote smelters, massive coal-fired power plants have been built directly inside the industrial parks. The coal-power capacity built for Indonesian nickel refining is so massive it rivals the entire power grid of some mid-sized nations, meaning the “clean” nickel is produced using one of the dirtiest fossil fuels on Earth.
While electric vehicles promise a cleaner future on Western roads, the upstream race for their essential battery ingredients is leaving a devastating ecological and human toll across the globe. In the high-altitude salt flats of South America’s ‘Lithium Triangle,’ massive brine extraction operations are draining vital aquifers, leaving Indigenous farming communities facing severe water scarcity in one of the driest deserts on Earth.
Meanwhile, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which supplies over 70 per cent of the world’s cobalt, the transition is fueled by thousands of informal ‘artisanal’ miners –including children – who labour in hazardous, hand-dug tunnels under brutal conditions with zero environmental oversight.
Desperate to escape these terrestrial crises, mining conglomerates are now turning their sights to the Pacific Ocean’s seabed, where plans to vacuum up mineral-rich polymetallic nodules threaten to irreversibly disrupt fragile deep-sea ecosystems and the planet’s natural carbon-capturing mechanisms before we even fully understand them.
Many EV buyers honestly believe they are helping the planet, but they should be know that their shiny new EV is potentially destroying the environment more quickly than if they’d stuck to a petrol guzzler.
As we’ve recently observed, environmental concerns are often secondary to cost-saving priorities. When EVs receive subsidies or petrol prices rise, markets bifurcate, and customers shift up or down the price spectrum depending on their financial position.
Today, it is the cheapest and least eco-conscious countries that are, perhaps unexpectedly, benefiting from Trump’s Middle East conflict and its influence on consumer behaviour.
As the Australian government unwinds its fuel excise relief, making petrol more expensive again, expect the environment to suffer anew.
Roger Montgomery is the Founder and Chairman of Montgomery Investment Management. Roger has over three decades of experience in funds management and related activities, including equities analysis, equity and derivatives strategy, trading and stockbroking. Prior to establishing Montgomery, Roger held positions at Ord Minnett Jardine Fleming, BT (Australia) Limited and Merrill Lynch.
He is also author of best-selling investment guide-book for the stock market, Value.able – how to value the best stocks and buy them for less than they are worth.
Roger appears regularly on television and radio, and in the press, including ABC radio and TV, The Australian and Ausbiz. View upcoming media appearances.
This post was contributed by a representative of Montgomery Investment Management Pty Limited (AFSL No. 354564). The principal purpose of this post is to provide factual information and not provide financial product advice. Additionally, the information provided is not intended to provide any recommendation or opinion about any financial product. Any commentary and statements of opinion however may contain general advice only that is prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial circumstances or needs. Because of this, before acting on any of the information provided, you should always consider its appropriateness in light of your personal objectives, financial circumstances and needs and should consider seeking independent advice from a financial advisor if necessary before making any decisions. This post specifically excludes personal advice.
