Is An Electric Vehicle Really Environmentally Friendly?

In relation to the emissions and environmental impact of running an electric car, in comparison to a petrol or diesel engine, then it is definitely up there as one of the best options for the environment. However, it is important to note that the battery has to be made from something, and it has to be made somewhere – in factories which, themselves, do cause large emissions; and the batteries are made from lithium and other chemicals which must be drawn from the ground.  That being said, controlling the emissions from individual buildings is much easier than controlling that of thousands of cars on the road every day, so one emission-heavy plant is still preferable to thousands of cars driving around.