I haven’t heard of this list before. ACEEE claims to consider the caustic effects of mining and total environmental impact of EVs, thus giving a way to consider lifetime emissions and lifetime pollution.

We all know that Tesla vehicles have over 1000lbs of batteries in them: batteries that were mined through dirty means, and hundreds of extra pounds that reduce the efficiency of the vehicle. Adding up the total environmental impacts overall are difficult, and I’ve always been looking for a methodology that took these issues into account.

ACEEE did come up with a 2024 list of the “greenest” cars, as well as a top-10 list of “Greener, non-EV cars”. The non-EV list is for anyone who is unable to use electricity (ex: living in an apartment without access to a charger), who still wants the greenest solution for themselves.

Lightweight EVs like the Nissan Leaf and Mini Cooper SE are near the top of the list. Surprisingly, Prius Prime 2024 (a PHEV) tops the list as #1 greenest car according to the ACEEE’s methodology.

I’ll have to read more about the methodology here, but I’m glad to see a total lifetime envrionmental effects list like this. I’ll have to review their methodology before I fully trust it, but the surface-level discussions look great.