The False Promises of Electric Vehicles Are Being Exposed

TILAK DOSHI

The latest data on global EV sales present a mixed picture. Year-to-date January to May 2025 global EV sales grew by 28% over the same period last year. This might suggest that overall, despite the many news headlines about struggling car manufacturers faced with slowing sales figures, the EV transition to electric mobility is still robust.

Yet, a quick glance at the data by regional breakdowns shows that the EV story is overwhelmingly a China-focused one. Europe bought 1.6 million more cars in 2025 so far relative to the same period last year, or 27% more. North Americans bought only 0.7 million more, or 3%. The ‘rest of the world’ bought 0.6 million more EV units or 36%. China alone accounted for 4.4 million new EV units, logging a growth of 33%. To call what is essentially a China-dominated story a global EV success story is a sleight of hand.

Given the opacity of China-related news, it is not clear what to make of reports about vast ‘graveyards’ of unsold EVs in various cities. A Bloomberg article in 2023 reported that “a subsidy-fuelled boom helped build China into an electric-car giant but left weed-infested lots across the nation brimming with unwanted battery-powered cars”. A report published on Friday warned that “the Chinese auto industry is a bubble about to burst after years of artificially inflated sales and brutal price wars. The scheme involves registering new vehicles in China and then selling them abroad as used vehicles despite being essentially ‘zero-mileage’ cars. This allows carmakers to report high sales numbers even though the market is on the brink of collapse.”

Indeed, inflating EV sales figures is not restricted to China. Geoff from Geoff Buys Cars reveals how EV sales numbers are artificially inflated in the UK. Thomas Shepstone of the Energy Security and Freedom Substack explains it as follows:

Historically, some dealers have registered vehicles to themselves or their dealership to meet sales targets set by manufacturers, qualify for bonuses or clear inventory. This can temporarily inflate reported sales figures, but these vehicles often end up as demo models, loaners or used inventory, not actual consumer sales. … For EVs, the high cost (average transaction price of $56,351 in Q3 2024) and uneven consumer demand could incentivise such behaviour, especially for brands struggling to move EV stock.

As pointed out by David Blackmon is his widely read Energy Transition Absurdities Substack, the other striking take-away from the graph is the much lower sales this year overall from the peak in December 2024. Blackmon states: “What this chart starkly reveals is that the global EV industry has suffered a dramatic drop in sales this year, from almost two million in December 2024 to a bit less than 1.6 million in May 2025. That’s a collapse of 20% in sales in just 150 days or so.”

It might be argued that comparing December to May sales figures may be misleading and that the second half of this year might surprise on the upside. Few would want to bet on this presumption. Certainly, most of the auto manufactures who have the most to lose (or gain) financially, as we have seen, are scaling back.

Dirty Secrets of Clean EVs

The environmental argument, the cornerstone of the EV push, is equally shaky. Advocates claimed EVs would slash CO₂ emissions, but lifecycle analyses reveal a more complex picture. Manufacturing EV batteries requires energy-intensive mining and processing of rare earths and minerals like lithium, cobalt and nickel. In countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, cobalt mining by informal enterprise has led to environmental devastation and harsh employment practices including child labour.

The carbon footprint of producing an EV far exceeds that of an ICE vehicle, meaning drivers must log tens of thousands of miles before an EV becomes ‘greener’ – and that’s assuming the electricity grid is powered by renewables rather than natural gas and coal. In many regions, it isn’t. The International Energy Agency notes that over 60% of EVs sold in Mexico in 2023 and 2024 came from China, where coal-heavy grids undermine the ‘clean’ narrative.

While EVs eliminate tailpipe emissions, their heavier weight and faster acceleration increase particulate emissions from tire wear. Studies suggest that tire emissions can significantly exceed tailpipe emissions, contradicting claims of overall environmental benefits from EV adoption. The smallest tire particles, measured in nanometres, can enter lungs and spread into organs. Various tire components have been linked to chronic conditions including respiratory problems, kidney damage, neurological damage, and birth defects — a particular concern in low-income neighbourhoods adjacent to highways.

There are indirect costs of electric vehicles as well that, while not included in the cost an individual owner pays, are borne by the country. The most significant of these is the additional wear on infrastructure from EVs. Heavier vehicles on roads have negative consequences, and EVs are far heavier than their conventional vehicle counterparts. Heavier vehicles cause more damage to roads and bridges. Heavy EVs also pose a threat of parking structure collapse in older or less maintained carparks.

Not enough attention is paid to the fact that ICE vehicles have made remarkable strides over the past half-century in reducing emissions of actual pollutants. Sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides, lead, mercury and ozone have been curtailed through cleaner fuels, advanced engines and scrubber technologies. Ambient urban conditions have improved markedly from the smog-filled cities typical of the 1950s and 60s. The ‘pea-soup‘ fogs of 1950s London are now a thing of the past.

It is also not widely reocgnised that carbon dioxide, often vilified, is not a pollutant but a trace gas essential for photosynthesis and life itself. The obsession with EVs, then, is less about economics, health or climate, properly understood, and more about a cultural pathology that ignores trade-offs and practicalities.

The Business World’s Retreat

The business world, once all-in on EVs, is now retreating. Major automakers like Ford, General Motors and Volkswagen, which once pledged to phase out ICE vehicles, are scaling back EV investments or halting new projects. In February 2025 it was reported that Ford Model e, the company’s electric vehicle division, had an earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) loss of $5.1 billion in 2024 after losing $4.7 billion the year before.

A Politico report last month noted GM’s shift in investment focus consistent with a more pragmatic, market‑aligned strategy reflecting a reinforcement of gasoline‑engine investments and a broader step-back from all‑EV ambitions. This includes slowing the conversion of key factories to EV production in response to softening demand. Volkswagen’s CEO admitted in 2025 that the company’s EV push was “overly ambitious”, citing weak demand and supply chain issues. He called for greater flexibility in the European Union’s plan to ban sales of new combustion engine cars by 2035, warning that “the transition to fully electric vehicles may not happen as smoothly as expected”. He urged EU politicians to carry out a “reality check” and assess how fast electric vehicles are actually being adopted across member states.

Toyota, the one major outlier among large automotive companies with its cautious focus on hybrids, has emerged relatively unscathed, its strategy vindicated as consumer preference for hybrids grows. About four or five Chinese manufacturers, propped up by state subsidies, and Tesla are among the few still profiting from EVs. Even Tesla’s margins are under pressure as competition intensifies.

The Trump administration’s energy policy shift has accelerated this reversal, going beyond just dismantling subsidies for EVs and other ‘favoured’ renewables. US regulators have waived fines for automakers failing to meet fuel efficiency standards dating back to the 2022 model year, following a new law signed by President Donald Trump. This move, part of a tax and budget bill, puts an end to fines under the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) rules established by a 1975 energy law enacted to address a different ‘problem’ (the Arab oil embargo)

After yanking the ‘pull’ factor (taxpayer-financed subsidies) and the ‘push’ factor (the CAFE standards which became increasingly punitive on gasoline and diesel vehicles), Trump also signed a congressional resolution last month that overturns a California state rule that would have phased out the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. The California rule and the decision to revoke it are a major deal for the US auto market. The state makes up about 12% of the US population and its rule has also been adopted by 11 other states and Washington, D.C.

A Rorschach Test for the West

The EV story is a cautionary tale of hubris and misplaced priorities. The promise of a clean, cost-effective and convenient future is seductive, but it ignored the complexities of battery production, mineral supply chains, infrastructure and safety. The environmental costs of mining, the economic burden of subsidies and mandates imposed to ‘save the climate’, and the practical limitations of range and charging have dismantled the myth of EVs as a panacea.

The natural market for EVs, brilliantly exploited by Elon Musk, was always the affluent ‘luxury beliefs‘ class of EV proponents and buyers who could afford having these status symbols as their second or third car. But to be a viable business, EVs had to be embraced by many more in the aspiring middle classes. EVs had to be seen as a rational response to both pollution and a belief that they would actually cost less to run once ‘all the costs’ were accounted for. In the ESG universe, this was called ‘doing well by doing good‘.

But, like a Rorschach inkblot, it now transpires that EVs reveal more about our desires than our realities. It was sold as mankind’s solution to poor urban air quality and man-made global warming – the former affecting the daily health of majority urban dwellers and the latter leading to an impending climate catastrophe for us and our children. Perhaps the love affair with the EV is a projection of Western guilt and idealism in the Church of Climate — a topic for experts on Western ‘mass formation‘ psychology.

As the auto industry pivots back to hybrids and ICE vehicles, and as shipping companies like Matson draw a line in the sand, the EV revolution stands exposed as another climate virtue narrative. The path forward lies not in ideological crusades but in pragmatic solutions — cleaner ICE technologies, robust hybrids and, for EVs, rigorous safety standards and transparent lifecycle assessments. Cars once again need to make sense for sovereign consumers spending their own money, without the carrots and sticks of intrusive government policies supposedly based on ‘The Science’.

Dr Tilak K. Doshi is the Daily Sceptic‘s Energy Editor. He is an economist, a member of the CO₂ Coalition and a former contributor to Forbes. Follow him on Substack and X.

---

This article (The False Promises of Electric Vehicles Are Being Exposed) was created and published by Daily Sceptic and is republished here under “Fair Use” with attribution to the author Tilak Doshi

Featured image: The Daily Sceptic

••••

The Liberty Beacon Project is now expanding at a near exponential rate, and for this we are grateful and excited! But we must also be practical. For 7 years we have not asked for any donations, and have built this project with our own funds as we grew. We are now experiencing ever increasing growing pains due to the large number of websites and projects we represent. So we have just installed donation buttons on our websites and ask that you consider this when you visit them. Nothing is too small. We thank you for all your support and your considerations … (TLB)

••••

Comment Policy: As a privately owned web site, we reserve the right to remove comments that contain spam, advertising, vulgarity, threats of violence, racism, or personal/abusive attacks on other users. This also applies to trolling, the use of more than one alias, or just intentional mischief. Enforcement of this policy is at the discretion of this websites administrators. Repeat offenders may be blocked or permanently banned without prior warning.

••••

Disclaimer: TLB websites contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of “fair use” in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, health, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than “fair use” you must request permission from the copyright owner.

••••

Disclaimer: The information and opinions shared are for informational purposes only including, but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material are not intended as medical advice or instruction. Nothing mentioned is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Liberty Beacon Project.