Sustainability Newsletter – August 2025

With affordability being a key barrier to drivers making the switch to electric, the recent launch of the government’s new Electric Car Grant (ECG) provides some much-needed financial help to those looking to make greener choices. Unlike the previous Plug-in Car Grant which ended a few years ago, this new scheme has sustainability at its core and only cars with sufficiently eco-friendly credentials will make the cut.

Meanwhile Volvo has released a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) report for its ES90 helping to provide more transparency about its manufacture and lifetime environmental impact. The ES90 is a sleek new coupe-like crossover is built in China using electricity generated from hydropower and solar panels. The LCA report concludes the total carbon footprint of the ES90 when charged with the European energy mix is approximately 50 per cent lower than the mild hybrid S90 and 30 per cent lower than the plug-in hybrid S90. This gives the ES90 one of the lowest carbon footprints of any Volvo to date, with a total footprint of 31 tonnes. If you charged the ES90 using electricity produced from wind energy alone the carbon footprint reduces to 26 tonnes.

The ES90 will be too expensive to benefit from the new EV grant, but it will be interesting to see whether Volvo’s smaller EX30 is eligible. The EX30 is also manufactured in a Chinese plant powered by renewable energy. However, due to China’s heavy dependence of coal as an energy source at a national level, the EX30 will score poorly using the government’s sustainability criteria which could mean it is excluded from the grant entirely. As a result, Volvo is one of the many brands to announce its own discounts on its electric range.
For those manufacturing electric vehicles in the UK investment in renewable energy is crucial. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has revealed Britain’s car and commercial vehicle plants generated a record 60.3GWh of energy last year with a 30 per cent increase in energy from solar panels and wind turbines. However, despite more efficient manufacturing methods helping to reduce the energy required to produce a vehicle by 2.4 per cent, the demand for energy is set to increase to support the production of more electrified models. To achieve this, more manufacturers will be looking to invest in renewables, yet according to the SMMT it takes an average of 14 years to get new energy supplies connected to the grid. These timelines clearly need to improve for the UK’s manufacturing industry to reduce its reliance on energy produced by gas in order to secure cheaper, greener energy sources.

Manufacturing electric vehicles is one thing, but providing accessible charging points is another. Vauxhall has conducted research showing just 2.2 per cent of on-street chargers have been adapted for disabled drivers – a proportion which remains unchanged since 2024. When surveyed 111 of the 289 councils who responded admitted to having no on-street charge points which meet the national access charging standard co-sponsored by the Motability Foundation and the government. Vauxhall was a founding partner of the Motability Scheme which leases vehicles to disabled people. According to Motability, currently 65 per cent of its customers will not make the switch to an EV until they have no choice and 45 per cent said it’s too difficult to find nearby public charging points. This could mean disabled people are left behind in the switch to electric cars. As a result, Vauxhall is encouraging drivers to register their need for on-street charging and for disabled motorists to highlight their requirement for accessible charging. This forms part of Vauxhall's wider Electric Streets Campaign to support the 40 per cent of UK households without off-street parking.
This is not the only way Vauxhall is trying to help with the electric transition. It has also teamed up with property marketplace Zoopla to help buyers find the nearest on-street charging points to their new home and to allow them to filter for properties which already have a home charging point installed. In a recent piece of research Vauxhall found 40 per cent of UK drivers said the proximity to charging points would be an influential factor when they next move home. One third of drivers said the lack of EV charging would deter them from a specific property and this rose to 84 per cent among existing electric vehicle drivers. We know consumers have many questions about electric vehicles. They want to know if EVs are really greener, to be confident they are getting value for money and to be reassured there’s a reliable charging infrastructure. While we've clearly got a long way to go, but government incentives, increased transparency and accessible charging all feel like steps in the right direction.

• Sustainability newsletter – July 2025 | Kia helps clean up the oceans, BMW’s natural ‘carbon fibre’ and Volvo commits to using recycled steel
• Sustainability newsletter – June 2025 | Reusing old electric car batteries, the antithesis of the Tesla Cybertruck and applications open for Edie’s Net-Zero Awards • Sustainability newsletter – May 2025 | Reducing emissions, creating a circular economy and the King’s Award for Enterprise, but are commercial vehicles being left behind? • Sustainability newsletter – April 2025 | Car brands fined for hiding data on recyclable material in their vehicles and a potential upside to American tariffs • Sustainability newsletter – March 2025 | Climate crisis, policy proposals and big changes at Bentley – is it too late for the car industry to become more sustainable? • Sustainability newsletter – February 2025 | Transatlantic divide on sustainability grows, UK charging and battery manufacturing gets a boost and Audi in a muddle • Sustainability newsletter – January 2025 | 2025 looks set to be the year of the affordable EV • Sustainability newsletter – December 2024 | Cornish Lithium’s UK sourced raw materials for electric car batteries and its wider role in carbon reduction • Sustainability newsletter – November 2024 | The Autumn Budget, sales of electric vehicles, sustainable materials and planning for the future • Sustainability newsletter – October 2024 | Industry asks government to make EVs more affordable in name of Net Zero and how sustainability works as a selling point • Sustainability newsletter – September 2024 | Road charging for electric cars, UK’s car manufacturers clean up their act and VW explores hemp-based bio interiors • Sustainability newsletter – August 2024 | Is stimulating electric car sales ‘green’ and how improved charging infrastructure is helping with the great summer getaway • Sustainability newsletter – July 2024 | Hidden carbon cost of tech, Volvo pushes for more recycled plastics and Renault secures greener supply chain for EV batteries • Sustainability newsletter – June 2024 | Farewell chrome plating, bravo for Renault’s recycled interiors and a cheer for the … circular economy for recycled tyres • Sustainability newsletter – May 2024 | Lithium is key in the production of electric car batteries, but where does it all come from and at what cost? • Sustainability newsletter – March 2024 | The importance of renewable energy in making sure electric cars really are the green choice, and one Dutch couple’s mission to prove it! • Sustainability newsletter – January 2024 | French act on heavy SUVs and embedded CO2 of imported electric cars, BYD plans European factory and Nio opens battery swapping centres • Sustainability newsletter – December 2024 | Vauxhall electrifies Britain’s streets, a second life for electric car batteries and recycled Alcantara seat fabric combines luxury and sustainability • Sustainability newsletter – November 2023 | Costs for EV batteries fall, funding for UK-sourced lithium project, GM goes renewable and Lynk & Co commits to life cycle CO2 audits • Sustainability newsletter – October 2023 | Costs for EV batteries fall, funding for UK-sourced lithium project, GM goes renewable and Lynk & Co commits to life cycle CO2 audits • Sustainability newsletter – September 2023 | Erin Baker shares her thoughts on the UK's changing net zero targets and delaying the 2030 ban for new petrol and diesel cars. • Sustainability newsletter – August 2023 | Zapmap reports increased charger installations, Lime's e-mobility revolution and Nissan's autonomous driving • Sustainability newsletter – July 2023 | Public charging network expands, hydrogen back on the agenda and choosing green tyres • Sustainability newsletter – June 2023 | BMW helps electrify the UK’s national parks and Kia ditches leather across its range of cars • Sustainability newsletter – May 2023 | What upholstery will you be choosing for your next car - leather or pleather? • Sustainability newsletter – April 2023 | Polestar’s ‘moonshot’ for a zero emissions car and a look into synthetic fuels as a possible lifeline for internal combustion classics • Sustainability newsletter – February 2023 | Our regular sustainability round-up continues with a look at some new recycled materials this month, all of which could be in your car soon • Sustainability newsletter – January 2023 | Eco awareness is driving more and more car buying decisions for a variety of reasons -here we celebrate those doing it right!