A new study by motor experts at Confused.com has revealed the most eco friendly cars for 2022.
With traditional fuels, like petrol and diesel, being banned in new cars from 2030 and the current rise in fuel prices, electric and hybrid car models have never been more popular.
Therefore, the company analysed each car's fuel/energy consumption, cost per mile and CSR data, as well as which manufacturers used the most fuel efficient technology to conclude the most eco friendly cars and manufacturers for 2022.
Tesla is 280% more expensive than the most fuel efficient electric car in the index!
Tesla took the 17th position in the cleanest cars index despite being a manufacturer that only produced electric cars.
Tesla ranked in second place for the ‘Tech Share’ rating, due to being 100% electric as it is arguably the most sustainable technology. However, the brand ranked poorly in its corporate social responsibility (CSR) scoring 40, compared to Peugeot’s 92.
The CSR data was one of the main reasons Tesla ranks low on the index despite being 100% electric. This is because drivers who are eco conscious may consider other aspects like CSR scores which make a company overall more sustainable and ethical. Likewise, Tesla models were also on the lower end of the electric car index, with the cheapest car costing £783 per 12000 miles compared to the most efficient Smart car model at £206 – a huge difference of 117%!
Picture courtesy: Peugeot.
Peugeot has been crowned the most sustainable car for 2022 as it has five cars ranking in the top 65 electric cars with an average rank of fourth place. It also has an incredible CSR data score of 92, and the fourth highest Tech Share rank, which analysed its use of turbo engines, gears, hybrid StopStart technology and engine type. These high scores across the board helped this manufacturer to come out on the top of the index!
Volkswagen follows in second with four cars making the top 65 electric cars with an average rank of sixth place. Volkswagen also has a good CSR score of 86 and ranked first place out of all car manufacturers for use of advanced fuel efficient technology in its models – giving it a high tech share rating.
Smart, has the highest number of electric cars in the index with 11 making the top 65 and also ranked first place for having the most fuel efficient electric car in the index. This helped Smart to take third place overall (joint with Fiat and Citroen). It has a CSR data score of 87. However, Smart has a low tech share score of 11 – potentially the main reason as to why it didn't claim the crown.
When it comes to producing green and sustainable cars, new advances in technology play a vital role. Therefore, the index recognises eight different uses of technology that help manufacturers improve their cars’ fuel efficiency – including turbo charged engines, gasoline direct injection, non hybrid stop-start, hybrid, and electric.
The study ranked Volkswagen number one in its tech share ranking due to using the most fuel efficient technology across its models (based on US production). Over 95% of the models use turbocharged engines and gasoline direct injection to increase the combustion efficiency and amount of energy produced to reduce overall emissions. Likewise, 88% of the brand’s cars use non hybrid stop-start to reduce fuel consumption. VW also has the second highest percentage use of electric cars – despite only being 3% compared to Tesla's 100%.
Tesla ranked second in the tech share ranking, whilst Lexus (Toyota) ranked third with 13% of cars using hybrid technology (joint highest), 1% using electric and 42% using more than seven gears to help improve efficiency.
Rankings/tables courtesy Confused.com