Whereas electrical automobile gross sales proceed to rise worldwide, automotive provide chains are lagging behind the required tempo of decarbonisation, in response to a brand new report from Greenpeace Asia.
This 12 months Suzuki obtained the bottom rating in Greenpeace East Asia’s annual auto rating, adopted by Nice Wall Motor and Toyota. China’s largest automaker, SAIC, noticed the very best quantity of electrical automobile (EV) gross sales, however took simply third place within the rating resulting from its gradual progress on provide chain decarbonization.
“Sadly, automaking giants like Toyota, Volkswagen and Hyundai aren’t lowering their emissions as rapidly as many individuals consider,” mentioned mentioned Greenpeace East Asia Deputy Program Director, Ada Kong. “Regardless of speedy progress in EV gross sales, a staggering 94 % of automobiles bought final 12 months by the world’s largest conventional automakers had been powered by fossil fuels. Business leaders like Toyota and Hyundai proceed to flood the roads with combustion engine automobiles and a rising variety of SUVs. Main automakers have to speed up the shift away from fossil fossils, reasonably than boasting about their minimal EV gross sales share.”
The rating evaluates the world’s 15 largest conventional automakers on their phase-out of combustion engine automobiles, provide chain decarbonisation, and useful resource discount and circularity.1 Findings are based mostly on Greenpeace evaluation of MarkLines knowledge.
Key findings
Suzuki, Nice Wall Motor and Toyota obtained the bottom scores within the rating. Toyota is the world’s largest automaker, but fewer than one in 400 automobiles bought by Toyota in 2022 had been battery electrical automobiles (BEVs). Suzuki bought zero BEVs in 2022.
Mercedes-Benz and BMW obtained the highest scores on this 12 months’s rating, however each automakers proceed to promote extra combustion engine automobiles than is appropriate with limiting the worldwide common temperature enhance to 1.5˚C.
SAIC reported the very best quantity of EV gross sales, however took simply third place resulting from its gradual progress on provide chain decarbonization. In 2022, three out of ten automobiles bought by SAIC had been EVs.
Nice Wall Motor and Hyundai-Kia proceed to develop their SUV gross sales, worsening local weather danger. In 2022, the share of SUVs in Hyundai-Kia’s complete gross sales surpassed 50% for the primary time. On account of excessive metal consumption and low gas effectivity, SUVs have a bigger carbon footprint than smaller automobiles.
Conventional automakers have bought few EVs outdoors of China and Europe. SAIC is the one automaker included within the rating with sizable zero-emission automobile gross sales in India, Thailand, and Indonesia. Automakers proceed to promote excessive numbers of combustion engine automobiles within the World South, which is inconsistent with the automakers’ local weather commitments.
Greenpeace urges automakers to undertake bold zero-emission automobile transition methods worldwide. Automakers ought to finish the sale of combustion engine automobiles in Europe by 2028 and within the US, China, Korea, and Japan earlier than 2030. The transition to electrical automobiles have to be carried out alongside funding in battery recycling, decarbonisation of the metal provide chain, and a simply transition for auto trade employees.
“Finally, we want conventional automakers to dramatically velocity up their adoption of electrical automobiles. Manufacturers like Toyota and Hyundai face a really actual market menace from all-electric vehicle-makers like Tesla and BYD, however within the face of evolving know-how, they’re dragging their toes,” mentioned Kong.
Notes
[1] Electrical-focused automakers are excluded from the rating, together with BYD and Tesla.