The subject is particularly divisive. Because it touches on the car, the environment, the price of fuel… In short, a cocktail of themes over which the French frankly like to tear each other apart. And it is precisely in an attempt to offer a “factual, objective and scientific” look that Ademe looked at the real results of the electric car. Is it really ecological when the minerals constituting its battery come from mines located on the other side of the world? Is it really profitable when a liter of diesel exceeds 2.40 euros? Here are the questions that the French energy transition agency tried to answer. With an opinion that is ultimately quite clear-cut. “She wins the match,” assures Sylvain Waserman.
If the CEO of Ademe is so affirmative, it is because he relies on substantial work carried out by his teams to analyze the qualities and defects of electric cars. Driven by purchasing aid, the sector has represented 42% of the French market since September 2025, driving the sharp rebound in new car sales. “It’s a subject that causes a lot of debate. People wonder if it’s really profitable and if it’s good for the planet. And the answer is yes,” assures the CEO.
From the mine to the terminal
To know the total environmental footprint, Ademe looked at the entire manufacturing chain. “From the mineral extraction mines to the adaptation of the electricity networks here. The reality is that manufacturing accounts for 90% of the carbon weight of the electric car, a good part of which goes to the battery,” assures Sylvain Waserman.
Even with this heavy thorn, its results remain clearly favorable. According to Ademe, the carbon cost of a car with a 60 kWh battery is amortized after 70,000 km traveled. At the end of its life (around 240,000 km), this vehicle will have emitted 2.25 times less carbon than a non-rechargeable hybrid model in the same segment, promises Ademe. According to Bertrand-Olivier Ducreux, transport and mobility engineer, the benefit would even be increased by the benefits of eco-driving. “Because you brake less and you regenerate your battery by slowing down. »
Refueling costs three to four times less
Listening to Ademe officials, the benefit of buying an electric vehicle is not only environmental. The agency took out the calculator to reveal an implacable observation. For the same distance, an electric recharge costs three times less than a full tank of diesel or gasoline. And that was before fuel prices skyrocketed. Today, the ratio flirts with a ratio of one to five. To this must be added a 40% lower maintenance cost for electric vehicles but remove insurance costs that are 11% higher on average.
The problem with electric is the cost of purchase. According to Ademe, this additional cost, estimated at +3,000 euros for a Renault Mégane or Peugeot 308 type vehicle, rises to +5,000 euros for a Peugeot 208 or Renault 5 type city car, and +7,000 euros for smaller models like the Twingo. Gaps that state aid and social leasing can erase, or even erase, assures Ademe. And which are quickly offset by the cost of use. “The more intensive the use and the more we recharge at home, the quicker we make money,” assures engineer Bertrand-Olivier Ducreux.
If it wants to encourage the French to go electric, Ademe nonetheless remains lucid about the challenges that lie ahead. “There is in particular a challenge to improve the repairability of vehicles and the need to anticipate the recycling of batteries when they are at the end of their life,” warns Bertrand-Olivier Ducreux. In its survey, Ademe is also reassuring about the lifespan of batteries. “With average damage of 1.7 to 2.3% per year, they can maintain an average residual capacity of 89% at 200,000 km,” assures the energy transition agency.
