Ecological transition and climate-neutrality objectives have made the shift to electric-powered vehicles inescapable — among other things, through the phasing-out of new combustion-driven vehicles in Europe by 2035. However, two recent studies highlight the major impact of a total switchover to electric vehicles on the demand for critical metals, materials for which France and Europe as a whole are largely dependent on foreign (mainly, Chinese) suppliers. Both studies present various scenarios for that demand for critical metals and converge in their finding that a sustainable transition to electrical mobility will not be achievable without greater voluntary restraint on the part of the consumer, whether in terms of vehicle size, battery power or intensity of use.
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