Aston Martin CEO distances himself from questionable EV report

Aston Martin is reviewing how a report was commissioned that has been criticized for making inaccurate comparisons of the climate harm caused by cars powered by batteries and combustion engines.

One claim it made was that it takes 78,000 km (48,000 miles) for EVs to be cleaner than conventional cars. The claim was widely reported by UK media outlets in the wake of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s proposed 2030 ban on gasoline and diesel cars

The figure is more like 16,000 miles (25,750 km), according to Auke Hoekstra, a researcher at the Eindhoven University of Technology.

Hoekstra said the report underestimated emissions from combustion-engine cars by roughly half and did not take into account fuel production. It also bases its approximation of the carbon footprint of EVs on one model built by Polestar, the automaker jointly owned by Volvo Cars and Geely Holding Group.

Aston Martin CEO Tobias Moers said the report the company compiled along with some of its peers predated him joining the automaker in August.

"I am concerned about the media coverage relating to the recently published Decarbonisation of Road Transport report," Moers said in an emailed statement.

He said he was not aware of the contents before it was published and that Aston Martin is "fully committed to the development of both hybrid and battery-electric vehicles."

Michael Liebreich, a clean-energy and climate adviser and founder of the consultancy now known as BloombergNEF, which Bloomberg LP acquired in 2009, wrote in a blog post that Hoekstra had "comprehensively debunked" the automakers’ report.

"Myths and misinformation" about EVs "slow down attempts to address climate change, they cause public money to be wasted and they destroy good investments," Liebreich said.

The incident reflects the strain automakers are under to meet government mandates that fundamentally reshape their industry.

The UK and state of California have set targets to phase out combustion engines entirely by 2035, while China is drawing up plans for the majority of vehicles sold in the world’s biggest market to be electric by then.

"The momentum for EVs is being powered by governments and manufacturers investing billions in batteries, vehicles and associated infrastructure," said David Watson, CEO of EV-charging company Ohme Technologies. "That's a juggernaut that won’t be stopped by the odd piece of misinformation, especially when the claims as so easily disprovable."

Aston Martin contributed to the report with the intention of exploring the best approach to achieving the UK government's goals to reduce road-transport emissions, a spokeswoman said earlier in an email. Other companies listed on the report include Honda and McLaren.

Honda said it supports a multi-pathway approach to decarbonization. McLaren contributed information pertaining to its expertise with regard to reducing vehicle weight.

To meet stricter emissions standards for passenger cars in Europe this year, Honda has joined Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in pooling its fleet with Tesla’s EV lineup. While McLaren plans to start rolling out gasoline-electric models next year, the company has said it will not launch a full-electric car until the second half of this decade.

Boris Johnson's gasoline and diesel car ban poses a serious threat to Aston Martin. The Gaydon, England-based company put off the launch of an all-electric Lagonda marque by three years, to 2025, and paused work on its first battery-powered model, called Rapid E, in January.

It announced a deal with Daimler in October to access the Mercedes-Benz maker’s electric and hybrid powertrains through 2027.