Electric cars already have no tailpipe emissions, but even cleaner EVs – built with low-carbon steel, aluminium and batteries, and in a way that minimises harm to people, communities and the environment – are now within reach, according to a new ranking of the world’s largest carmakers. Crucially, this progress is driven by EU regulations which are now under threat of being rolled back.
The fourth edition of the Lead the Charge Auto Supply Chain Leaderboard, which ranks global automakers based on their efforts to build equitable, sustainable, and fossil-free supply chains for electric vehicles, shows clear momentum of carmakers cleaning up their supply chains.
Key findings:
• A core group of industry leaders – Ford, Mercedes, Tesla, Volvo Cars and Volkswagen – are pushing further ahead, having achieved a rate of progress that is double that of the remaining 13 companies since the first edition of the Leaderboard.
• OEMs use lead market position to decarbonise materials: Volvo and Mercedes have made significant investments in steel and aluminum decarbonization and are now selling new EV models, Mercedes’ CLA and Volvo’s ES90.
• Greater transparency: Carmakers are starting to disclose disaggregated, granular data that enables stakeholders to assess actual progress. For instance, Geely discloses the percentage of low carbon steel and aluminum in four models. (....)