Societal, environmental, and economic impacts of electric vehicles towards achieving sustainable development goals

Electric vehicles (EVs) have become a revolutionary innovation for the development of smart cities as they can lower greenhouse gas emissions and enhance air quality to meet the sustainability targets established in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations (UN). Although a substantial amount of research has been conducted to enhance the performance of EVs, the impact assessment of EVs on achieving the SDGs has not been carried out comprehensively. Hence, this paper proposes an analytical method to evaluate the impact of EVs, with a particular emphasis on advancing the 17 SDGs across three dimensions of sustainable development: (a) societal, (b) environmental, and (c) economic, within a global context framework. Furthermore, an in-depth investigation has been conducted to examine the positive and negative impacts of the 17 SDGs, including their 169 sub-targets, on the environment, society, and economy. This novel approach has revealed that EV positively impacts 40 SDG targets, while it negatively affects 5. It is notable that EV adoption has delivered benefits in societal, environmental, and economic areas, even though some challenges and trade-offs exist within each. Ultimately, the study offers several practical recommendations to reduce the negative effects of EVs. In summary, this research will inspire academic institutions, scholars, and the automotive sector to continue exploring EV advancements for sustainable transportation.