{"id":12790,"date":"2026-06-10T11:32:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T10:32:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/?p=12790"},"modified":"2026-06-26T12:11:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T11:11:35","slug":"it-is-not-true-that-electric-cars-pollute-more-than-diesel-vehicles-because-of-their-tires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/10\/it-is-not-true-that-electric-cars-pollute-more-than-diesel-vehicles-because-of-their-tires\/","title":{"rendered":"It Is Not True That Electric Cars Pollute More Than Diesel Vehicles Because of Their Tires"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Original article<\/a> (in Croatian) was published on 3\/6\/2026; Author: Ana Bena\u010di\u0107<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If only tire wear is considered, a heavier electric vehicle may emit more particles. However, when the entire vehicle is taken into account, electric vehicles remain the cleaner technology in most scenarios.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The news portal Klix.ba published an article claiming that “electric cars pollute more than diesel vehicles,”<\/a> arguing that tire wear from electric vehicles exceeds emissions from exhaust systems and brake particles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Despite the fact that ‘greens’ continue to claim that internal combustion engine vehicles are the biggest polluters, it is only now becoming clear that electric cars actually pollute even more than diesel vehicles because they are heavier and wear out their tires faster on the road,” the article states. It later adds: “If you drive an electric car, tire weight loss is even greater, meaning you pollute the environment even more. According to findings by Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute, up to 100,000 tonnes of fine rubber dust end up on German roads every year.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Fraunhofer Institute is also the only source cited in the article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, according to the institute’s published research<\/a>, it merely measured environmental particles generated by tire wear. It did not compare electric vehicles with vehicles powered by internal combustion engines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, the claim that electric vehicles pollute more than diesel cars because they are heavier and, on average, wear out tires more quickly has proven remarkably persistent despite being counterintuitive. It contradicts observable reality, beginning with the fact that several cities around the world already have significantly cleaner air thanks to the growing adoption of electric vehicles. Chinese metropolitan areas provide a clear example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This has been demonstrated not only through logical reasoning \u2013 that electric vehicles do not emit toxic or irritating combustion by-products such as carbon monoxide<\/a> (CO), sulfur dioxide<\/a> (SO\u2082), ozone<\/a> (O\u2083), hydrocarbons<\/a>, or nitrogen oxides<\/a> (NO\u2093) \u2013 but also through empirical measurements. A study conducted across 330 cities in 31 Chinese provinces, funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China together with several regional and municipal authorities, found that despite the overall increase in the number of vehicles on the road, the expansion of electric vehicle use accounted for a substantial share of improvements in air quality<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researchers combined data on the installation dates of new charging stations \u2013 which are considered a major incentive for switching to electric vehicles \u2013 with air pollution measurements from monitoring stations in individual cities. Their analysis estimated that within a few months, concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) decreased by 3.326 micrograms per cubic metre per month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Euro 7<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is true, however, that this argument repeatedly resurfaces because exhaust emissions from new vehicles have genuinely declined, making other sources of traffic-related pollution increasingly important. These include particles generated by brake wear and tire wear, which mainly accumulate in soil and water. This is precisely why the European Union’s Euro 7 standard<\/a>, which enters into force for all new passenger car models in November 2026, addresses these emissions<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to brake emissions, electric vehicles already have an advantage thanks to regenerative braking. This technology slows the vehicle by converting its kinetic energy back into electricity instead of dissipating it as heat. The electric motor functions as a generator, storing the recovered electricity in the battery, thereby extending driving range while reducing wear on conventional brakes. As a result, brake systems on electric vehicles typically last between 100,000 and 150,000 kilometres<\/a>, whereas on combustion-engine vehicles they generally last between 20,000 and 60,000 kilometres<\/a>, depending on driving style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burning rubber<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Driving style is precisely what created much of the confusion surrounding this issue after research<\/a> by Emissions Analytics<\/a> attracted worldwide attention in 2022. The company’s finding that electric vehicles emit up to 2,000 times more particulate matter than combustion-engine vehicles was even reported by media outlets known for their climate coverage, including The Guardian<\/a> and Earth.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The findings prompted responses from tire manufacturers<\/a> as well as the UK’s Royal Automobile Club (RAC<\/a>), which commissioned battery electrochemist Dr Euan McTurk<\/strong> to examine and debunk the research. In the United Kingdom, public attention to tire particle emissions had also been amplified by Environment Secretary George Eustice<\/a><\/strong>, who argued that the environmental benefits of switching to electric vehicles might not be as significant as many people expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McTurk explained that the tire wear described in the Emissions Analytics study was fundamentally unrealistic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Emissions Analytics press release<\/a> suggested that particulate pollution from tire wear could be 1,000 times greater than vehicle exhaust emissions, and that car tires could produce as much as 9.28 grams of particles per mile, or 5.8 grams per kilometre. However, this represents the absolute worst-case scenario\u2026 Several calculations based on common sense illustrate just how extreme this case is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A typical 16-inch family car tire weighs around 9 kg<\/a>, meaning that four tires weigh approximately 36 kg in total. This is the weight of the complete tires, not just the tread. If a vehicle were actually losing 9.28 grams of tire material per mile, the tires would physically disappear \u2013 and the car would be driving on its rims \u2013 in less than 4,000 miles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In reality, the tire tread accounts for approximately 35% of the tire’s total weight. This means the tires would become completely bald in less than 1,358 miles, or roughly two months of driving for the average motorist in the United Kingdom.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tire Industry Project<\/a> also identified the source of these extraordinary claims in an interview<\/a> given to The Times by Emissions Analytics CEO Nick Molden<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This figure was derived from tests carried out using a vehicle driven specifically to maximise tire wear (“driven as wildly as possible, really pushed to the limit”). Driving style is well known to be the primary factor affecting tire wear (Le Maitre et al., 1998<\/a>). However, the extreme testing conditions used by Emissions Analytics are not representative of normal driving and would result in a tire lifespan of no more than 500 km.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Driving style also affects maximum torque<\/a>, which in turn influences tire wear. Unlike internal combustion engines, electric motors deliver maximum torque from zero revolutions per minute. While this provides rapid acceleration, repeated hard launches can wear down tire tread more quickly and generate more tire particles, regardless of the type of powertrain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides driving style, tire wear is also affected by tire quality, weather conditions and road surface. Driving on newly laid asphalt is simply not the same as driving on an old, patched-up road \u2013 or on gravel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vehicle weight and exhaust emissions in the real world<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This claim appears plausible to many people because modern internal combustion vehicles have indeed substantially reduced exhaust emissions, while electric vehicles are, on average, around 400 kilograms heavier<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, electric cars are still generally lighter than SUVs, which dominate new vehicle sales and are approximately 95%<\/a> powered by petrol or diesel engines. If vehicle weight alone were used as the determining factor for tire wear, petrol and diesel SUVs would once again emerge as the larger source of pollution in practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The argument that cleaner exhaust emissions from new combustion-engine vehicles make the transition to electric vehicles unnecessary also fails to reflect the reality of today’s vehicle fleet. The widely publicised analysis claiming that electric vehicle tires emit more than 1,000 times as many particles as exhaust systems relied on extreme assumptions and compared tire particles with emissions from exceptionally clean modern exhaust systems \u2013 not with the older vehicles that actually make up much of the traffic on today’s roads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vehicles currently driven on public roads are relatively old. As vehicles age, their emissions increase<\/a>, with significant rises in exhaust emissions occurring after as little as 86,000 kilometres. This is well below the average mileage of vehicles across Europe and in Croatia. The average vehicle in Croatia is nearly 15 years<\/a> old and travels approximately 12,000 kilometres<\/a> per year, resulting in an average lifetime mileage of around 180,000 kilometres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If only tires are considered<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Recharged notes<\/a>, electric vehicle tires may wear faster because battery packs make electric vehicles approximately 10\u201330% heavier than comparable petrol or diesel models. Some tires specifically designed for electric vehicles also use softer rubber compounds to reduce noise while accommodating the higher torque produced by electric motors. Instant torque encourages rapid acceleration, and when combined with greater vehicle weight, can accelerate tire wear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, fossil-fuel-powered vehicles generally produce more pollution because of their exhaust emissions. Even with modern filters, combustion engines emit particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and other pollutants every time they are started. Brake dust is another factor. Without regenerative braking, conventional brake pads perform nearly all braking functions, generating additional particulate emissions. A third factor is the age of the vehicle fleet. Real-world roads are filled with older vehicles whose exhaust emissions are considerably dirtier than those assumed in laboratory testing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If electric vehicles are assessed in the context of today’s market and the near future \u2013 as some laboratory studies attempt to do \u2013 it should also be noted that tire manufacturers are already developing low-emission rubber compounds, more wear-resistant tread designs, and even technologies capable of capturing tire particles close to the wheel itself. Battery packs are also expected to become lighter and more energy-dense over time, although manufacturers have for years accepted increased vehicle weight in exchange for longer driving range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If tire wear alone is considered, a heavier electric vehicle may indeed generate more particulate matter. However, when the entire vehicle is assessed \u2013 including exhaust emissions, brake wear and tire wear over a period of 10 to 15 years \u2013 electric vehicles remain the cleaner technology in most scenarios, particularly as electricity grids continue to decarbonise. For that reason, it is misleading to claim that electric vehicles pollute more than vehicles powered by internal combustion engines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Original article (in Croatian) was published on 3\/6\/2026; Author: Ana Bena\u010di\u0107 If only tire wear is considered, a heavier electric vehicle may emit more particles. However, when the entire vehicle is taken into account, electric vehicles remain the cleaner technology in most scenarios. The news portal Klix.ba published an article claiming that “electric cars pollute […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":12805,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[316],"tags":[29],"class_list":["post-12790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fact-checks","tag-croatia"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12790"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12790\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12806,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12790\/revisions\/12806"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}