I don't know the answer to that question, but I would suspect that an electric vehicle would be less harmful to the environment than a petrol guzzling conventional vehicle that pollutes the atmosphere.
Anyway, as much as I wish electric cars were as cheap as convential vehicles, and had the same range, and were as quick to recharge/refuel, they currently are not. Hence why mainstream adoption of the electric vehicle has not occurred. Not yet anyway.
It is purely the battery which is holding things up. As soon as batteries are lighter, cheaper and have greater power, the electric vehicle can be rolled out. The next problem will be pedestrian accidents as people are used to hearing noisy cars when they cross the road.
I read a survey recently, and already a full electric vehicle has the range to meet 90% of an individuals normal daily drives, ie going to work, the shops, etc. What they are clearly not suitable for are long trips.
Despite lots of people opposing electric vehicles, they have been used for many years in a variety of applications. Because they don't emmit any exhaust, and are very quiet, they are the perferred option for indoor applications, such as those karts used in airports. Many forklifts are now electric, and golf buggies have been for quite some time also.
Comparing electric motors to petrol/diesel they are far superior. They have greater torque, don't require any cooling system or lubricant such as an oil sump, and are almost maintanence free. It's only the power source which is the problem.
Hopefully going forward there will be a technology breakthrough with batteries. They have improved significantly in recent times mostly due to laptops & mobile phones, with new Lithium Ion, and Nickel Metalhydride batteries, but they are still not good enough for cars.
At the end of the day the world needs to move to emission free transport. Mabye this will be the electric car, mabye not, mabye something else will come along? What ever it is, I hope it comes along sooner rather than later, because the environmental impact of convential cars is horific. Anyone who has travelled to places like Shanghai and blown black snot out their nose will know what I'm talking about. This week on tv, a guy in China is now selling clean air in cans, the same size as a can of coke. People buy it, crack it open, and breathe in the air. Sounds terrible, but that's reality.
