All cars have environmental impacts. Electric cars are certainly better for the planet than fossil burners. But some electric cars are better than others. That’s why Total Environment Centre has now created the Green Electric Car Guide.

Released today, it scores and ranks the environmental impacts of the base models of all electric cars currently available for sale in Australia this year under $100,000. So which EVs come out in front of the pack, and which are being left in the dust? The rankings are below. Some results are predictable, while others may surprise.

By buying any electric car, you are helping to decarbonise Australia’s transport sector, which is one-fifth of our total economy-wide emissions.

You can roughly double the positive impact of your electric car purchase by recharging it from solar instead of through the grid. And you can make even more of an impact by buying one that has been designed and built to be relatively sustainable.

All the cars in the Green Electric Car Guide are scored according to their lifecycle carbon emissions, their use of sustainable technologies, and each carmaker’s record in promoting or discouraging the decarbonisation of the transport sector.

We’ve looked under the hood so buyers don't have to. Or you can keep it simple and just go for the most energy efficient car that meets most of your needs. We also encourage buyers to keep it simple. Do I really need a big battery, all wheel drive, big wheels and a sunroof?

The Guide was created by TEC with no industry or government money or sponsorship. By arming consumers with transparent and comprehensive information, this guide empowers individuals to make choices that align with a cleaner and greener future.

As long as TEC can attract ongoing funding, the Green Electric Car Guide will be every time a new car hits the Australian market. We’ve done our level best with the publicly available data but we invite anyone who has credible new or different information to get in touch so we can keep the guide and the rankings up to date. And we welcome feedback from users telling us how the guide has helped them or how it could be improved.