“I feel a little duped”: Electrifying.com FACT CHECKS Rowan Atkinson’s electric car column

#electriccars #factcheck #rowanatkinson

Can we simply start by stating that we're big fans of Rowan Atkinson at .com. He enjoys cars and trucks, we love automobiles, and we love his work. Today, however, hasn't been his finest. In a viewpoint column in The Guardian newspaper concerning electric vehicles, Atkinson advanced some rather questionable 'realities' about and trucks and the vehicle market.

These consisted of: "greenhouse gas emissions throughout production of an electrical vehicle are 70% greater than when making a fuel one" and "The issue lies with the lithium-ion batteries fitted currently to almost all electrical vehicles: they're absurdly heavy, numerous uncommon earth metals and substantial amounts of are needed to make them, and they just last upwards of 10 years"

We think declarations like this, coming from somebody who is at discomforts to explain their scientific qualifications– his degree remained in electrical and electronic engineering, with a subsequent master's in control systems– are a bit deceptive, without some more context.

And because it's been picking up quite a lot of coverage – we decided to offer Rowan Atkinson's opinion piece in the Guardian paper a little bit of a reality check and also offer it some of that context. You see, at we like to get the realities directly. To make sure you're armed with the right responses when someone asks you down the bar.

Sign Up With Ginny, Nicki and Nicola as they fact-check the column that everyone has actually been speaking about. And don't forget to tell us (we make certain you will not) what your opinion remains in the comments listed below.

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Comments

29 responses to ““I feel a little duped”: Electrifying.com FACT CHECKS Rowan Atkinson’s electric car column”

  1. HF Fletcher Avatar
    HF Fletcher

    Well done ⚡ team. As a petrol head & X racing driver I have to accept change and facts ref the planet. So should Mr Bean. Yes I miss engine sound, currently enjoying my new EV though.

    1. Kia e-Niro Diaries Encore Avatar
      Kia e-Niro Diaries Encore

      Good for you. Any affection for the noise and smell of an engine (something I have enjoyed in the past too) is when you think about it…childish.

    2. a07z Avatar
      a07z

      @Kia e-Niro Diaries EncoreChildish? Memories of good experiences are part of who you are.

  2. David Starley Avatar
    David Starley

    Great video and well explained. I was really disappointed by the article as I’m also a big Rowan fan. Sadly there’s so much misinformation from the big oil and gas companies and legacy automakers, that it’s unsurprising people have these views. Thanks for fighting back with science and evidence! 🙂

  3. Spazmuffin Avatar
    Spazmuffin

    Electrifying, would you consider doing a panel style video like this on Toyotas new Hydeogen Combustion engines? How they stack up agsinst electric and such like?
    Besides that, awesome video as always. 😀

    1. Peter Silva Avatar
      Peter Silva

      probably preaching to the converted, but fwiw: BEV’s are >80% normally… Hydrogen fuel cells are documented as 3x less efficient than battery electric, just because of losses in creating the hydrogen, storing it (under pressure) and then using it. The Fuel cells themselves are pretty good, efficiency-wise. hydrogen combustion engines start at being 3x less efficient, because of the losses above, and then you add in 20% efficiency of a n ICE… (3×4) so now you are in the realm of 12x less efficiency… so for each kwh you put into a BEV, to power a hydrogen combustion vehicle, you need about 12 kwh…. Does not sound promising.

    2. FullFatFact Avatar
      FullFatFact

      Toyota has recently announced plans for 10 new EVs by 2026, so it looks as if it’s changing direction. It continues to push hybrids though..

    3. FullFatFact Avatar
      FullFatFact

      Actually, Peter, HFCs are only around 50% efficient as they actually generate a lot of heat, and the losses you speak of reduce that to around 37%. BEVs, as you say, are far more efficient than any of the alternatives

  4. James Vincent Avatar
    James Vincent

    There’s so many people spreading wrong information cos they haven’t bothered to educate themselves.
    I appreciate conversations like this.

    1. leftcoaster67 Avatar
      leftcoaster67

      Because people have an agenda. And push what they like, and cherry pick facts.

  5. Ian Ackery Avatar
    Ian Ackery

    Well said ladies. Rowan won’t have done any research on this other than superficially so I feel a little sorry for him. Of course the anti-EV Daily Mail/Express/Telegraph brigade have jumped on this with the usual press ‘told you so’ but anyone with half a brain will find out the facts themselves. EV’s aren’t a Nirvana but long-term benefits are huge.

  6. Phuket Explorer Avatar
    Phuket Explorer

    Oh bugger! Having commented on this, YouTube has has stuffed half a a dozen Mr Bean videos on my ‘to watch’ list. 😂

  7. steve young Avatar
    steve young

    EVs will get cleaner each year and they can also be used to balance the grid- ie power transfered each way

  8. chris penn Avatar
    chris penn

    There you go again – confusing the issue with facts….. Glad you’ve done this video thanks. Pity the Daily Telegraph readers won’t watch it!

    1. Ruediger Preiss Avatar
      Ruediger Preiss

      When they do watch it they dismiss everything and place a laughing emoji.

  9. Tesla-Spectre Avatar
    Tesla-Spectre

    I find the aspect of changing and rticle in ajor spects AFTER THE FACT absolutely unethical… did not know that, so thanks for pointing that out

  10. Billy Heywood Avatar
    Billy Heywood

    Well done for taking on this subject. Rowan Atkinson is an ill-informed petrol head, I can’t believe the Guardian published his article full of untruth

  11. Grizzly HP2 Avatar
    Grizzly HP2

    Invite Rowan Atkinson. Let him explain where is old info comes from. Possible mostly from the time he was in school. 😁

    1. Tero Alho Avatar
      Tero Alho

      No clowns to real car panels.

    2. tattttu9 Avatar
      tattttu9

      this comment is it, the fact he has a degree and a masters is not enough to claim he knows what he is talking about. It would have possibly been, when he got them, and if he did enough to study this issue. Other than that, he just knows a bit more than the average Joe about electrical issues, does not give him credibility to discuss evs

  12. rodden1953 Avatar
    rodden1953

    Brilliant, there is enough FUD to make a video like this every week, Well done .

  13. Aaron Biggin Avatar
    Aaron Biggin

    I think the real question is how much of the original article was edited before print, not written by Rowen Atkinson but adjusted to be skewed toward Pro oil views. But you where right to fact check and put the correct info out there . 👍

  14. FullFatFact Avatar
    FullFatFact

    According to an article in Reuters yesterday, China now produces 50.9% of its electricity from non-fossil fuel sources, wind, solar, and hydro, so carbon payback is improving there also. Apparently in 2021 China set a goal of producing half their electricity from renewables by 2025, so are 2 years ahead of that goal 😊

  15. Howertings Yaboya Avatar
    Howertings Yaboya

    Just to add a bit of structural engineering context to the issue of overloaded car parks: Category F Design imposed loading on car park structures = 2.5 kPa (Ref EN 1991-1-1 or BS 6399-1). Typical car parking space dimensions 2.4m x 4.8m. Therefore design imposed load per car park space = 2.5 x 2.4 x 4.8 kN = 28.8kN or 2935kg. So until the average weight of cars exceeds approximately 2.9te (no matter the fuel type) then car park structures should generally remain quite happy to support your car without too much stress!

  16. Stephen Vermeulen Avatar
    Stephen Vermeulen

    Good job ladies! Would be interesting to see what you’d find if you selected an appropriate max weight (say 2000kg) and then found out how many MPs and Lords drive cars over that limit and sent them all letters advising them that their cars might be banned from using multi-level parking lots.

  17. Doug Zirkle Avatar
    Doug Zirkle

    Thank you so much for this episode! I listened to Mr. Atkinson’s talk and, to my surprise, thinking how wrong some of the information actually was that he talked about. I’m a big fan of his, but have wondered why he would spread such misinformation.

  18. Greg Nicholas Avatar
    Greg Nicholas

    Great video, do the green payback figures take into account coal electricity used to refine oil and shipping oil/petrol?

  19. Gary Smith Avatar
    Gary Smith

    I’ve been in Dundee for a few days, and not only are EV’s welcome in multistorey car parks, their massive bulk is encouraged to be placed on the second highest level where the chargers are, the highest level is covered in solar panels. The weight of EVs doesn’t appear to be a problem there!

  20. Adam Toms Avatar
    Adam Toms

    I think this all steams from being an early adopter, in the short space of time EVs have been on the market they have improved massively. The downside is that early experience is likely to negatively skew your opinion. Which is probably where Rowan’s beef generally comes from. But lets face it 2030 is coming and with more and more EV choice coming onto the market in the UK, it will be a viable option for many.

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