A Ford Focus electric car is displayed next to its charging station at the 2012 Geneva Auto Show. — Reuters file picLOS ANGELES, April 18 — A new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists has stressed that electric vehicles are cleaner than the alternatives even when coal is used to generate the electricity.

The report, released this week, is the first time researchers have addressed the question of the environmental impact of electric vehicles depending on what sort of method has been used to produce the electricity they are charged with.

It is designed to tackle one of the charges often levelled against EVs by some sceptics that the vehicles have a high carbon footprint if they use electricity generated from a coal-burning power plant, for example.

The study found that in every part of the US, electric vehicles outperform most gasoline-powered cars when it comes to emissions.

Even in states where coal dominates the electricity grid, such as the Rocky Mountains, driving an EV produces emissions equivalent to a gasoline vehicle with a fuel economy of 7.12 l/100km — around the level of the best non-hybrid compact gasoline vehicles on the market.

At the other end of the scale, in areas such as California and New York, EV ownership produces emissions equivalent to those of an 2.94 l/100km vehicle, UCS said.

Either way, the UCS calculated that EVs will save their buyers money — an average of between US$750 (RM2,300) and US$1,200 a year compared to a new gasoline vehicle at the average mileage of 8.71 l/100km. — AFP/Relaxnews