Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), also known as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), is the most common form of arthritis in children and adolescents. ("Juvenile" in this context refers to an onset before age 16,[1] "idiopathic" refers to a condition with no defined cause, and "arthritis" is the inflammation of the synovium of a joint.)
JIA is an autoimmune, noninfective, inflammatory joint disease of more than 6 weeks duration in children less than 16 years of age. The disease commonly occurs in children from the ages of 1 to 6, but it may develop as late as 15 years of age.[2] It is a subset of arthritis seen in childhood, which may be transient and self-limited or chronic. It differs significantly from arthritis commonly seen in adults (osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis), and other types of arthritis that can present in childhood which are chronic conditions (e.g. psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis). Aetiopathology is similar to rheumatoid arthritis, but with less marked cartilage erosion, and joint instability and absent rheumatoid factor.
JIA affects about one in 1,000 children in any given year, with about one in 10,000 having a more severe form.[3]
Signs and symptoms
Symptoms of JIA are often nonspecific initially, and include lethargy, reduced physical activity, and poor appetite.[4]  The first manifestation, particularly in young children, may be limping.  Children may also become quite ill, presenting with flu-like symptoms that persist.  The cardinal clinical feature is persistent swelling of the affected joint(s), which commonly include the knee, ankle, wrist, and small joints of the hands and feet.  Swelling may be difficult to detect clinically, especially for joints such as those of the spine, sacroiliac joints, shoulder, hip, and jaw, where imaging techniques such as ultrasound or MRI are very useful.
Pain is an important symptom.  Morning stiffness that improves later in the day is a common feature (this implies inflammatory-type joint pain versus mechanical-type joint pain). Late effects of arthritis include joint contracture (stiff, bent joint due to fibrosis) and joint damage.   Children with JIA vary in the degree to which they are affected by particular symptoms. Symptoms may also differ between sexes, affecting girls and boys differently among different geographic locations. This is predicted to be due to biological differences in different geographic regions.[5] Children may also have swollen joints (inflammatory swelling, or in chronic arthritis due to synovial membrane proliferation and thickening, and periarticular soft-tissue swelling).
Extra-articular
Eye disease: JIA is associated with inflammation in the front of the eye (specifically iridocyclitis, a form of chronic anterior uveitis), which affects about one child in five who has JIA, most commonly girls.[6] This complication is usually asymptomatic and can be detected by an experienced optometrist or ophthalmologist using a slit lamp.  Later slit lamp features include synechiae. Most children with JIA are enrolled in a regular slit lamp screening program, as poorly controlled chronic anterior uveitis may result in permanent eye damage, including blindness.
Growth disturbance: Children with JIA may have reduced overall rate of growth, especially if the disease involves many joints or other body systems.  Paradoxically, individually affected large joints (such as the knee) may grow faster, due to inflammation-induced increased blood supply to the bone growth plates situated near the joints. This can result in leg length discrepancy, and also deformities such as genu valgum. Asymmetrical growth can also affect other bones e.g. discrepancy in digit length. Marked differences in bone age (skeletal maturation) may be seen.
Complications
JIA is a chronic disorder, which if neglected, can lead to serious complications. Proper follow-up with health professionals can significantly reduce the chance of developing complications.[7]
A form of eye inflammation called uveitis is common with some types of JIA.[8]  The inflamed eyes, if left untreated, can result in glaucoma, scars, cataracts, and even blindness. Often, the eye inflammation occurs without symptoms, or while the JIA is otherwise in remission,  thus it is important for all children to get regular eye checkups from an eye physician. The presence of ANA is a predictor of eye involvement (common in oligoarthritis-type JIA).
Growth retardation is common in children with JIA. Moreover, the medications (corticosteroids) used to treat JIA have potent side effects that can limit growth. Other muskuloskeletal issues may include joint contractures, muscle weakness or muscle loss, and osteoporosis.[9]
Children who delay treatment or do not participate in physical therapy, or children with severe disease, can often develop joint deformities of the hand and fingers. Over time, hand function is lost and almost impossible to recover.
Causes
The cause of JIA remains unknown. However, the disorder is autoimmune[10] — meaning that the body's own immune system starts to attack and destroy cells and tissues (particularly in the joints) for no apparent reason. The immune system is thought to be  provoked by changes in the environment, in combination with mutations in many associated genes[11] and/or other causes of differential expression of genes. Experimental studies have shown that certain mutated viruses may be able to trigger JIA. The disease  appears to be more common in girls, and the disease is most common in Caucasians.[12]
Associated factors that may worsen or have been linked to rheumatoid arthritis include:
Genetic predisposition; When one family member has been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis or  another autoimmune disorder, the chances are higher that other family members or siblings may also develop arthritis.
Females are more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis than males at all ages.
A strong belief is held that psychological stress may worsen the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. However, when the emotional stress is under control, the arthritis symptoms do not always disappear, suggesting that the association is not straightforward.
Though no distinct immune factor has been isolated as a cause of arthritis, some experts believe that the triggering factor may be something like a virus which then disappears from the body after permanent damage is done.
Because rheumatoid arthritis is more common in women, perhaps sex hormones may play a role in causing or modulating arthritis. Unfortunately, neither sex hormone deficiency nor replacement has been shown to improve or worsen arthritis.[13]
The cause of JIA, as the word "idiopathic" suggests, is unknown and an area of active research.[14]  Current understanding of JIA suggests that it arises in a genetically susceptible individual due to environmental factors.[15]
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of JIA is difficult because joint pain in children can be from many other causes. No single test  can confirm the diagnosis, and most physicians use a combination of blood tests, X-rays, and clinical presentation to make an initial diagnosis of JIA. The blood tests measure antibodies and the rheumatoid factor. Unfortunately, the rheumatoid factor is not present in all children with JIA. Moreover, in some cases, the blood work is somewhat normal. X-rays are obtained to ensure that the joint pain is not from a fracture, cancer, infection, or congenital abnormality.
In most cases, fluid from the joint is aspirated and analyzed. This test often helps in making a diagnosis of JIA by ruling out other causes of joint pain.[16]
Differential diagnosis
One possible differential diagnosis for JIA is Farber disease, which is a rare, fatal, genetic lysosomal disorder caused by a deficiency of the enzyme acid ceramidase. It has symptoms similar to JIA including swelling, stiffness, and pain at the joints. These joint abnormalities are progressive and develop during early infancy in a patient with Farber disease. Patients with Farber disease typically have subcutaneous nodules and a hoarse or weak voice due to growth of nodules on the larynx. A Farber disease diagnosis can be confirmed by gene sequencing.[17]
There are several other disorders and diseases that present with symptoms similar to JIA. One possibility could be acute pediatric lymphoblastic leukemia in which children will exhibit joint pain and arthritis due to expansion in the lymphoblasts in bone metaphyses. Thrombocytopenia and lymphocytosis are rare in children and should be looked at when identifying the cause of joint pain because both are seen in children with leukemia. Behcet Syndrome is a multisystem disease also with symptoms similar to JIA. The etiology is unknown and it leads to multisystem inflammation. It can progress to aphthous ulcers, genital ulcerations as well as blindness form uvitis. The additional symptoms and age onset, as Behcet syndrome is rarely diagnosed before school age, can help differentiate. Lyme disease can also commonly be confused with JIA due to the arthritis that develops if left untreated or undiagnosed. The systemic arthritis that develops affects multiple joints and can mimic the arthritis caused by JIA. To rule out Lyme Disease an ELISA blood test can be done to identify antibodies towards the bacteria leading to lyme disease.[18]
Classification
The three major types of JIA are oligoarticular, polyarticular, and systemic.[19][20]

JIAOligoarticular/Pauciarticular  JIA (60%)Systemic JIA/Still's disease (15%)Polyarticular JIA/Juvenile RA (10%)Seronegative spondylarthritis Juvenile AS (5%)
Oligoarticular
Oligoarticular (or pauciarticular) JIA affects four or fewer joints in the first six months of illness. The prefixes "oligo-" and "pauci-" mean "few".
Oligoarticular is used with JIA terminology, and pauciarticular is used with JRA terminology.[21]
Patients with oligoarticular JIA are more often ANA positive, when compared to other types of JIA.[22]
This form accounts for about 50% of JIA cases, and usually involves the large joints such as the knees, ankles, and elbows, but smaller joints (such as the fingers and toes) may also be affected. The hip is not affected unlike polyarticular JIA. It is usually not symmetrical, meaning the affected joints are on one side of the body rather than on both sides simultaneously. Length discrepancy and muscle atrophy often happen, which leads to asymmetric growth and risk of flexion contracture. Early childhood onset patients are at risk for developing a chronic iridocyclitis or  anterior uveitis, which is inflammation of the eye.  This condition often goes unnoticed; therefore, these children should be closely monitored by an ophthalmologist.  If ANA+, patient need routine eye exam every 3 months.  If ANA- and older than 7 years, they can have eye exam every 6 months.[23]  Children with late-onset oligoarticular JIA are at risk for sacroiliitis and spondyloarthropathy; late-onset oligoarticular JIA affects boys more often than girls and is associated with HLA-B27.
Polyarticular
Polyarticular JIA affects five or more joints in the first 6 months of disease. This subtype can include the neck and jaw, as well as the small joints usually affected. This type of JIA is more common in girls than in boys. It accounts for about 40% of JIA cases.
Usually, the smaller joints are affected in polyarticular JIA, such as the fingers and hands, although weight-bearing joints such as the knees, hips, and ankles may also be affected.  The joints affected are usually symmetrical, meaning that it affects both joints on both sides of the body (such as both wrists.) Children with polyarticular JIA are also at risk for developing chronic iridocyclitis or uveitis and should also be monitored by an optometrist or ophthalmologist.[23]
Rheumatoid factor may be positive, i.e. seropositive, in children with polyarticular JIA occurring between 9 and 16 years of age and is associated with HLA DR4 and HLA DW4. This group has poorer prognosis with about 50% progressing to severe disabiling arthritis, persisting into adulthood. It is generally seronegative in JIA occurring below 10 years of age with a milder disease process and responds better to treatment. Seropositivity is rare in children with systemic JIA. Due to the greater number of joints affected by polyarticular JIA, as well as the tendency to worsen over time, polyarticular JIA must be treated aggressively.[24]
Systemic

Systemic JIA is characterized by arthritis, fever, which typically is higher than the low-grade fever associated with polyarticular, and a salmon pink rash. It accounts for 10-20% of JIA and affects males and females equally, unlike the other two subtypes of JIA, and affects adolescents . It generally involves both large and small joints. Systemic JIA can be challenging to diagnose because the fever and rash come and go. Fever can occur at the same time every day or twice a day (often in late afternoon or evening) with a spontaneous rapid return to baseline (vs. septic arthritis of continuous fever). The rash is discrete, salmon-pink macules of different sizes.  It migrates to different locations on skin, rarely persisting in one location more than one hour. The rash is commonly seen on trunk and proximal extremities or over pressure areas.
Systemic JIA may have internal organ involvement -  hepatosplenomegaly, lymphadenopathy, serositis, hepatitis, tenosynovitis, etc.
It is also known as "systemic onset juvenile rheumatoid arthritis".[25]
A polymorphism in macrophage migration inhibitory factor has been associated with this condition.[26]
It is sometimes called "adolescent-onset Still's disease", to distinguish it from adult-onset Still's disease. However,  some evidence shows the two conditions are closely related.[27]
Rheumatoid factor and ANA are generally negative in systemic JIA.
Other types
Some doctors include two other, less common forms: enthesitis-related arthritis and psoriatic JIA. Enthesitis is an inflammation of the insertion points of the tendons. This form occurs most often in boys older than 8, large joints of lower extremities are commonly affected; characteristically, it causes back pain, and is linked to ankylosing spondylitis and inflammatory bowel disease. Psoriatic JIA occurs most often in girls, in conjunction with psoriasis or any two of these features - i.e. dactylitit and nail pitting, although joint problems may precede the skin manifestations by several years.[4]
Treatment
JIA is best treated by a multidisciplinary team. The major emphasis of treatment for JIA is to help the child regain normal level of physical and social activities. This is accomplished with the use of physical therapy, pain management strategies, and social support.[28] Another emphasis of treatment is to control inflammation and extra-articular symptoms quickly. Doing so should help to reduce joint damage and other symptoms, which will help reduce levels of permanent damage leading to disability.[29]
Beneficial advances in drug treatment have been made over the last 20 years.  Most children are treated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and intra-articular corticosteroid injections.  Methotrexate, a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) is a powerful drug which helps suppress joint inflammation in the majority of JIA patients with polyarthritis[30][31]  (though less useful in systemic arthritis).[32]  Newer drugs have been developed recently, such as TNF alpha blockers, such as etanercept.[33]  No controlled evidence supports the use of alternative remedies such as specific dietary exclusions, homeopathic treatment, or acupuncture. However, an increased consumption of omega-3 fatty acids proved to be beneficial in two small studies.[34][35]
Celecoxib has been found effective in one study.[36]
Other aspects of managing JIA include physical and occupational therapy. Therapists can recommend the best exercise and also make protective equipment. Moreover, the child may require the use of special supports, ambulatory devices, or splints to help them ambulate and function normally.
Surgery is only used to treat the most severe cases of JIA. In all cases, surgery is used to remove scars and improve joint function.
Home remedies that may help JIA includes getting regular exercises to increase muscle strength and joint flexibility. Swimming is perhaps the best activity for all children with JIA. Stiffness and swelling can also be reduced with application of cold packs, but a warm bath or shower can also improve joint mobility.[37]
In the future, genetic testing may be available allowing earlier detection of JIA. Early detection will help determine the severity of the disease in each child and help identify which therapies will be the most effective and beneficial treatment options.
Therapy
A common approach to treating a child with JIA typically involves a team of medical professionals including a rheumatologist, occupational therapist (OT), physical therapist (PT), nurse and social worker.
The role of the OT/PT is to help children participate as fully and independently as possible in their daily activities or "occupations",[38] by preventing psychological and physical dependency. The aim is to maximize quality of life, and minimize disruption to the child’s and family’s life. OTs work with children, their families and schools, to come up with an individualized plan which is based on the child’s condition, limitations, strengths and goals. This is accomplished by ongoing assessments of a child’s abilities and social functioning. The plan may include the use of a variety of assistive devices, such as splints, that help a person perform tasks. The plan may also involve changes to the home, encouraging use of uninvolved joints, as well as providing the child and their family with support and education about the disease and strategies for managing it.[38] OT interventions will be changed depending on the progression and remission of JIA, in order to promote age-appropriate self-sufficiency. Early OT involvement is essential. Interventions taught by an OT can help a child adapt and adjust to the challenges of JIA throughout the rest of their life.
Self-care
OT/PT can provide many strategies to assist children in their dressing routine. Clothes with easy openings and Velcro, as well as devices, such as buttonhooks and zipper pulls can be used. For children who have difficulty bending, a long handled reacher and sock aid is recommended. OTs may also show children how to sit during dressing so less strain is put on their joints.[39]
OT/PT can help children maintain cleanliness through recommending assistive devices. For children who have trouble reaching all areas of their body, a long handled sponge with a soft grip can be provided. If children find it difficult to sit in a bath or stand in a shower, an OT can prescribe a bath bench or bath seat to be installed to help the child remain in a pain free position. If tooth brushing is challenging, a toothbrush with a larger, soft grip or an electric toothbrush may be recommended. For flossing, a flosser with an adapted handle may be provided.[39] Long handled hairbrushes may be used by children who have difficulty reaching the back of their head. Razors handles can be adapted for easier grip, or an electric razor may be used for shaving. The OT can also show girls wishing to use make-up, ways of increasing the sizes of the handles of make-up application tools for easier grip.[39]
For children with pain in their hands and wrists, utensils and devices that are lightweight with large handles as well as other devices (such as angled knives, strap-on utensils, jar and bottle openers, turning handles, door knob extensions, etc.) can be provided to make the task easier, less painful and more enjoyable.[39] Tilted glasses can be used for children who have neck stiffness. Education can be provided about good eating habits that help control bone loss caused by inactivity and drug side effects. Occupational therapists provide a myriad of strategies to assist children with JIA in performing self-care tasks.
Leisure
One of the best ways occupational or physical therapists (OTs or PTs) can help children with JIA participate in activities with their friends is by helping them make their home exercise programs into play. Exercises are prescribed by both PTs and OTs to increase the range a child can move a joint and strengthen the joint to decrease pain and stiffness and prevent further limitations in their joint movements. OTs can provide children with age-appropriate games and activities to allow the children to practice their exercises while playing and socializing with friends. Examples are crafts, swimming, and noncompetitive sports.[40]
OTs often prescribe custom-made orthotics to support and correct body position and function.  Orthotics maintain alignment reduce discomfort in the legs and back when children participate in physical activities such as sports. Splints can be used to support the joints during activity, to reduce the children’s pain and increase participation in their preferred leisure activities. Resting splints may be prescribed for children to wear during the night to reduce swelling and stiffness in joints, allowing them to have less pain and stiffness while participating in play activities.[41] Furthermore, working splints are used to support the joint and relieve pain while working with the hands such as during crafts. A series of casts might be used to gradually extend shortened muscles, allowing for increased participation in leisure activities.
OTs can help children learn how to interact with their classmates and friends by collaboratively brainstorming strategies, role playing, and modeling. OTs also help children see what activities they are good at and which ones give them difficulty. Furthermore, OTs can help children learn to communicate their pain to others. Benefits of OT treatment include: improved social interaction, improved self-confidence, and a positive self-image. OTs can help children build friendships with other children suffering from similar diseases to help them feel less alone or less different from others. Many OTs run summer camps for children with similar diseases so children can get to know others with their disease.[42] Education sessions on JIA and leisure, and activities such as swimming, canoeing and nature trails are common.
For children who find that cool or damp weather makes it hard to play with friends outside, OTs can give ideas for clothing that keep the child warm and dry without limiting movement. An example of this is biking gloves, which allow children to move their fingers while still keeping their hands warm, as opposed to large winter gloves which limit hand function.[42] Warm pajamas and electric blankets can reduce pain and improve sleep.
Productivity
Children with JIA often require school activity modifications due to disease symptoms.[43] OTs can work with families and schools to improve attendance at school.[44] Therapists help children to succeed by providing ways for full participation at school by working with staff, taking part in activity planning and assessing the need for accommodations and adaptations.
OTs work with children, families and schools to develop strategies for helping children manage pain, stiffness and tiredness, which may sometimes limit their ability to participate in school related activities. A balanced plan will allow children to get enough activity that they do not stiffen up, but also enough rest that they do not tire. For example, a plan might be worked out with a teacher so a child will be allowed to stand and stretch during prolonged sitting, perform modified gym activities or take rest breaks during gym classes.[45] Other common management strategies taught by OTs include waking up early before school and taking a hot bath and then doing exercises to reduce stiffness and pain throughout the day. Using proper body movements when performing activities helps reduce strain on joints and thereby decrease pain and stiffness.[43] OTs can also teach children how to relax their muscles.
OTs may prescribe special equipment for children at school to make them more comfortable. Desks and chairs of a proper height for children are very important. The desk may have the ability to tilt into a comfortable position for writing. Pencils and pens with larger, softer grips can be used to make writing easier and less painful. Special keyboards may be prescribed to keep a child’s arms in a position that will reduce strain on joints when using a computer.[38] OTs can work with teachers to educate them about a child’s condition, limitations and ways they can help make school a positive experience for the child. Recommendations might include two sets of textbooks, one for home one for school, to prevent carrying a heavy load of books. Additional recommendations may involve a reduced amount of writing and typing, sitting on a chair instead of the floor, extra time to move between classes, an elevator key for schools that have elevators but restrict them to students with health problems, providing a student note-taker, and extra time to complete assignments.
As teenagers become adults, OTs can start working with them regarding their future education and employment plans. OTs can assist teenagers in finding ways to tell their employers about their disease in a positive way. OTs can also help teenagers understand their rights as an employee with a disability. Assistance with obtaining funding for post-secondary education might be provided. OTs may help teenagers set up volunteering in the community, to gain experience and self-confidence in their abilities. It is important that teenagers with JIA understand how to take care of themselves and manage their disease when working full-time or attending university. OTs can help teenagers develop strategies that will allow them to function at their greatest ability by taking care of their health.[46]
Prognosis

As of 1999: With early and aggressive therapy, some children do improve with time and lead normal lives.[47] However, severe cases of JIA which are not treated promptly can lead to poor growth and worsening of joint function. Since about 1980, significant improvements have been made in treatment of JIA and most children can lead a decent quality of life.  In order to improve the prognosis of JIA, patients should schedule routine echocardiographic screening to assess heart function.[47]
New research shows that identifying what type of JIA a child has can help target treatment and lead to more positive outcomes. Identifying the specific biomarkers related to each type of JIA can help form more personalized treatment plans and decrease remission rates.[48]
Children with JIA are more susceptible to cardiovascular disease, depression, sleep disturbance, anxiety and fatigue than healthy individuals. There is also limited information that suggests that children with JIA are at increased risk for malignancies when being treated with TNF blockers.[47]
Prognosis is more positive when gene testing is undergone to identify what subtype of JIA is present in the child. Standardized treatment protocols are in place specific to each subtype of JIA. Treatment is more successful when targeted to the specific subtype of JIA.[49]
Epidemiology
Onset
JIA occurs in both sexes, but like other rheumatological diseases, is more common in females. Symptoms onset is frequently dependent on the subtype of JIA  and is from the preschool years to the early teenaged years.
Prevalence
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis affects between eight and 150 of every 100,000 children, depending on the analysis.[4] Of these children, 50% have pauciarticular JIA, 40% have polyarticular JIA, and 10% have systemic JIA. In a preselected group (children under 16 years with orthodontic treatment need), prevalence rises to one out of 100 (0.88% out of 1024 children).[50]
Terminology
The terminology used is evolving, and each term has some limitations.
According to some sources, JIA replaces the term juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA).[51] Other sources still use the latter term.[52]
JIA is sometimes referred to as juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA),[53] a term that is not precise as JIA does not encompass all forms of chronic childhood arthritis.
A majority of cases are rheumatoid factor negative, which leads some to consider the "chronic" or "idiopathic" labels more appropriate.[54] However, if a cause was determined, then "idiopathic" may no longer be appropriate (making JIA a diagnosis of exclusion), and if the course was self-limited, then "chronic" may no longer be appropriate.
Adding to the confusion, the term rheumatoid itself lacks a consistent, unambiguous definition.
MeSH uses "juvenile rheumatoid arthritis" as the primary entry, and uses "chronic" and "idiopathic" in alternate entries.[55]
Famous patients
Rosemary Sutcliff, author
Clark Middleton, actor

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Is there a cure for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis?


''Asterix''

Asterix or The Adventures of Asterix (French: Astérix or Astérix le Gaulois [asteʁiks lə ɡolwa]) is a series of French comics. The series first appeared in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine Pilote on 29 October 1959. It was written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo until the death of Goscinny in 1977. Uderzo then took over the writing until 2009, when he sold the rights to publishing company Hachette. In 2013, a new team consisting of Jean-Yves Ferri (script) and Didier Conrad (artwork) took over. As of 2017, 37 volumes have been released.
The series follows the adventures of a village of Gauls as they resist Roman occupation in 50 BC. They do so by means of a magic potion, brewed by their druid Panoramix (named Getafix in the English translations), which temporarily gives the recipient superhuman strength. The protagonists, the title character Asterix and his friend Obelix, have various adventures. The "ix" ending of both names (as well as all the other pseudo-Gaulish "ix" names in the series) alludes to the "rix" suffix (meaning "king") present in the names of many real Gaulish chieftains such as Vercingetorix, Orgetorix and Dumnorix. In many of the stories, they travel to foreign countries, though others are set in and around their village. For much of the history of the series (Volumes 4 through 29), settings in Gaul and abroad alternated, with even-numbered volumes set abroad and odd-numbered volumes set in Gaul, mostly in the village.
The Asterix series is one of the most popular Franco-Belgian comics in the world, with the series being translated into 111 languages and dialects.[1]
The success of the series has led to the adaptation of its books into 13 films: nine animated, and four live action (one of which, Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, was a major box office success in France). There have also been a number of games based on the characters, and a theme park near Paris, Parc Astérix. The very first French satellite, Astérix, launched in 1965, was also named after the comics character. As of 2017, 370million copies of Asterix books have been sold worldwide,[2] with co-creators René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo being France's best-selling authors abroad.[3][4]
History

Prior to creating the Asterix series, Goscinny and Uderzo had previously had success with their series Oumpah-pah, which was published in Tintin magazine.[6]
Astérix was originally serialised in Pilote magazine, debuting in the first issue on 29 October 1959.[7] In 1961 the first book was put together, titled Asterix the Gaul. From then on, books were released generally on a yearly basis. Their success was exponential; the first book sold 6,000 copies in its year of publication; a year later, the second sold 20,000. In 1963, the third sold 40,000; the fourth, released in 1964, sold 150,000. A year later, the fifth sold 300,000; 1966's Asterix and the Big Fight sold 400,000 upon initial publication. The ninth Asterix volume, when first released in 1967, sold 1.2 million copies in two days.
Uderzo's first sketches portrayed Asterix as a huge and strong traditional Gaulish warrior. But Goscinny had a different picture in his mind. He visualized Asterix as a shrewd small sized warrior who would prefer intelligence over strength. However, Uderzo felt that the small sized hero needed a strong but dim companion to which Goscinny agreed. Hence, Obelix was born.[8] Despite the growing popularity of Asterix with the readers, the financial backing for Pilote ceased. Pilote was taken over by Georges Dargaud.[8]
When Goscinny died in 1977, Uderzo continued the series alone on the demand of the readers who implored him to continue. He continued the series but on a less frequent basis. Most critics and fans of the series prefer Goscinny's albums.[9] Uderzo created his own publishing company, Les Editions Albert-René, which published every album drawn and written by Uderzo alone since then.[8] However, Dargaud, the initial publisher of the series, kept the publishing rights on the 24 first albums made by both Uderzo and Goscinny. In 1990, the Uderzo and Goscinny families decided to sue Dargaud to take over the rights. In 1998, after a long trial, Dargaud lost the rights to publish and sell the albums. Uderzo decided to sell these rights to Hachette instead of Albert-René, but the publishing rights on new albums were still owned by Albert Uderzo (40%), Sylvie Uderzo (20%) and Anne Goscinny (40%).
In December 2008, Uderzo sold his stake to Hachette, which took over the company.[10] In a letter published in the French newspaper Le Monde in 2009, Uderzo's daughter, Sylvie, attacked her father's decision to sell the family publishing firm and the rights to produce new Astérix adventures after his death. She said:
... the co-creator of Astérix, France's comic strip hero, has betrayed the Gaulish warrior to the modern-day Romans – the men of industry and finance.[11][12]
However, René Goscinny's daughter, Anne, also gave her agreement to the continuation of the series and sold her rights at the same time. She is reported to have said that "Asterix has already had two lives: one during my father's lifetime and one after it. Why not a third?".[13] A few months later, Uderzo appointed three illustrators, who had been his assistants for many years, to continue the series.[9] In 2011, Uderzo announced that a new Asterix album was due out in 2013, with Jean-Yves Ferri writing the story and Frédéric Mébarki drawing it.[14] A year later, in 2012, the publisher Albert-René announced that Frédéric Mébarki had withdrawn from drawing the new album, due to the pressure he felt in following in the steps of Uderzo. Comic artist Didier Conrad was officially announced to take over drawing duties from Mébarki, with the due date of the new album in 2013 unchanged.[15][16]
In January 2015, after the murders of seven cartoonists at the satirical Paris weekly Charlie Hebdo, Astérix creator Albert Uderzo came out of retirement to draw two Astérix pictures honouring the memories of the victims.[17]
List of titles

Numbers 1–24, 32 and 34 are by Goscinny and Uderzo. Numbers 25–31 and 33 are by Uderzo alone. Years stated are for their initial album release. Numbers 35–37 are by Jean-Yves Ferri and Didier Conrad.

Asterix the Gaul (1961)[18]
Asterix and the Golden Sickle (1962)[18]
Asterix and the Goths (1963)[18]
Asterix the Gladiator (1964)[18]
Asterix and the Banquet (1965)[18]
Asterix and Cleopatra (1965)[18]
Asterix and the Big Fight (1966)[18]
Asterix in Britain (1966)[18]
Asterix and the Normans (1966)[18]
Asterix the Legionary (1967)[18]
Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield (1968)[18]
Asterix at the Olympic Games (1968)[18]
Asterix and the Cauldron (1969)[18]
Asterix in Spain (1969)[18]
Asterix and the Roman Agent (1970)[18]
Asterix in Switzerland (1970)[18]
The Mansions of the Gods (1971)[18]
Asterix and the Laurel Wreath (1972)[18]
Asterix and the Soothsayer (1972)[18]
Asterix in Corsica (1973)[18]
Asterix and Caesar's Gift (1974)[18]
Asterix and the Great Crossing (1975)[18]
Obelix and Co. (1976)[18]
Asterix in Belgium (1979)[18]
Asterix and the Great Divide (1980)[18]
Asterix and the Black Gold (1981)[18]
Asterix and Son (1983)[18]
Asterix and the Magic Carpet (1987)[18]
Asterix and the Secret Weapon (1991)[18]
Asterix and Obelix All at Sea (1996)
Asterix and the Actress (2001)
Asterix and the Class Act (2003)
Asterix and the Falling Sky (2005)
Asterix and Obelix's Birthday: The Golden Book (2009)[19]
Asterix and the Picts (2013)
Asterix and the Missing Scroll (2015)
Asterix and the Chariot Race (2017)
Non-canonical volumes:
Asterix Conquers Rome, to be the 23rd volume, before Obelix and Co.(1976) - comic
How Obelix Fell into the Magic Potion When he was a Little Boy (1989) - special issue album
The XII Tasks of Asterix (2016) - special issue album
Uderzo Croqué par ses Amis - a comic (1996)

Asterix Conquers Rome is a comics adaptation of the animated film The Twelve Tasks of Asterix. It was released in 1976, and was the 23rd volume to be published, but it has been rarely reprinted and is not considered to be canonical to the series. The only English translations ever to be published were in the Asterix Annual 1980 and never an English standalone volume. A picture-book version of the same story was published in English translation as The Twelve Tasks of Asterix by Hodder & Stoughton in 1978.
In 1996, a tribute album in honour of Albert Uderzo was released titled "Uderzo Croqué par ses Amis", a volume containing 21 short stories with Uderzo in Ancient Gaul. This volume was published by Soleil Productions and has not been translated into English
In 2007, Les Editions Albert René released a tribute volume titled Astérix et ses Amis, a 60-page volume of one-to-four-page short stories. It was a tribute to Albert Uderzo on his 80th birthday by 34 European cartoonists. The volume was translated into nine languages. As of 2016, it has not been translated into English.[20]
In 2016, the publisher French Hachette along with Anne Goscinny and Albert Uderzo decided to make the special issue album The XII Tasks of Asterix for the 40th anniversary of the film The Twelve Tasks of Asterix.
Synopsis and characters

The main setting for the series is an unnamed coastal village (rumoured to be inspired by Erquy) in Armorica (present-day Brittany), a province of Gaul (modern France), in the year 50 BC. Julius Caesar has conquered nearly all of Gaul for the Roman Republic. The little Armorican village, however, has held out because the villagers can gain temporary superhuman strength by drinking a magic potion brewed by the local village druid, Getafix. His chief is Vitalstatistix.
The main protagonist and hero of the village is Asterix, who, because of his shrewdness, is usually entrusted with the most important affairs of the village. He is aided in his adventures by his rather fat and slower thinking friend, Obelix, who, because he fell into the druid's cauldron of the potion as a baby, has permanent superhuman strength (because of this, Getafix steadily refuses to allow Obelix to drink the potion, as doing so would have a dangerous and unpredictable result). Obelix is usually accompanied by Dogmatix, his little dog. (Except for Asterix and Obelix, the names of the characters change with the language. For example, Obelix's dog's name is "Dogmatix" in English, but "Idéfix" in the original French edition.)
Asterix and Obelix (and sometimes other members of the village) go on various adventures both within the village and in far away lands. Places visited in the series include parts of Gaul (Lutetia, Corsica etc.), neighbouring nations (Belgium, Spain, Britain, Germany etc.), and far away lands (North America, Middle East, India etc.).
The series employs science-fiction and fantasy elements in the more recent books; for instance, the use of extraterrestrials in Asterix and the Falling Sky and the city of Atlantis in Asterix and Obelix All at Sea.
Humour
The humour encountered in the Asterix comics often centers around puns, caricatures, and tongue-in-cheek stereotypes of contemporary European nations and French regions. Much of the humour in the initial Asterix books was French-specific, which delayed the translation of the books into other languages for fear of losing the jokes and the spirit of the story. Some translations have actually added local humour: In the Italian translation, the Roman legionaries are made to speak in 20th century Roman dialect and Obelix's famous "Ils sont fous ces romains" ("These Romans are crazy") is translated as "Sono pazzi questi romani", alluding to the Roman abbreviation SPQR. In another example: Hiccups are written onomatopoeically in French as "hips", but in English as "hic", allowing Roman legionaries in more than one of the English translations to decline their hiccups in Latin ("hic, haec, hoc"). The newer albums share a more universal humour, both written and visual.[21]
Character names
All the fictional characters in Asterix have names which are puns on their roles or personalities and which follow certain patterns specific to nationality. Certain rules are followed (most of the time) such as Gauls (and their neighbours) having an '-ix' suffix for the males and ending in '-a' for the females, for example, Chief Vitalstatistix (so called due to his portly stature) and his wife Impedimenta (often at odds with the chief). The male Roman names end in '-us', echoing Latin nominitive male singular form, as in Gluteus Maximus, a muscle-bound athlete whose name is literally the butt of the joke. Gothic names (present-day Germany) end in "-ic", after Gothic chiefs such as Alaric and Theoderic, for example Rhetoric the interpreter. Greek names end in "-os" or "-es";  for example, Thermos the restaurateur. British names end in "-ax" and are often puns on the taxation associated with the later United Kingdom, such as Valuaddedtax the druid and Selectivemploymentax the mercenary. Other nationalities are treated to Pidgin translations from their language, like Huevos y Bacon, a Spanish chieftain (whose name, meaning eggs and bacon, is often guidebook Spanish for tourists) or literary and other popular media references, like Dubbelosix (a reference to James Bond's codename 007).
Most of these jokes, and hence the names of the characters, are specific to the translation; for example, the druid Getafix is Panoramix in the original French and Miraculix in German.[22] Even so, occasionally the wordplay has been preserved: Obelix's dog, known in the original French as Idéfix (from idée fixe, a "fixed idea" or obsession), is called Dogmatix in English, which not only renders the original meaning strikingly closely ("dogmatic") but in fact adds another layer of wordplay with the syllable "Dog-" at the beginning of the name.
The name Asterix, French Astérix, comes from astérisque, meaning "asterisk", which is the typographical symbol * indicating a footnote, from the Greek word αστήρ (aster), meaning a "star". His name is usually left unchanged in translations, aside from accents and the use of local alphabets. For example, in Esperanto, Polish, Slovene, Latvian, and Turkish it is Asteriks (in Turkish he was first named Bücür meaning "shorty", but the name was then changed). Two exceptions include Icelandic, in which he is known as Ástríkur ("Rich of love") and Sinhalese, where he is known as සූර පප්පා (Soora Pappa), which can be interpreted as "Hero".
For explanations of some of the other names, see List of Asterix characters.
Ethnic stereotypes
Many of the Asterix adventures take place in other countries aside from their homeland, Gaul. In every album that takes place abroad, they meet (usually modern-day) stereotypes for each country as seen by the French.
Italics (Italians) are the inhabitants of Italy. In the adventures of Asterix, the term "Romans" is used by non-Italics to refer to all inhabitants of Italy, who at that time had extended their dominion over a large part of the Mediterranean basin. But as can be seen in Asterix and the Chariot Race, in the Italic peninsula this term is used only to the people from the capital, with many Italics preferring to identify themselves as Umbrians, Etruscans, Venetians, etc. Various topics from this country are explored, as in this case the Italian gastronomy (pasta, pizza, wine), art, famous people (Pavarotti, Berlusconi, Mona Lisa) and even the controversial issue of political corruption.
Goths (Germans) are disciplined and militarists, they are composed of many races that fight each other (which is a reference to Germany before Otto von Bismarck and to East and West Germany after the Second World War) and they wear the Pickelhaube helmet common during the German Empire.
Helvetians (Swiss) are neutral, eat fondue, and are obsessed with cleaning, accurate time-keeping, and banks.
The Britons (English) are phlegmatic and speak with early 20th century aristocratic slang (like Bertie Wooster). They stop for Tea every day (making it with hot water and a drop of milk until Asterix brings them actual tea leaves), drink lukewarm beer (Bitter), eat tasteless foods with mint sauce (Rosbif) and live in streets containing rows of identical houses.
Hibernians (Irish) are the inhabitants of Hibernia, the Latin name of Ireland. They fight against the Romans alongside the Britons to defend the British Isles.
Hispania (Spain) is a place full of tourists. Hispania is the country where people of northern Europe go on vacation (and ask to eat the same food they eat at their homelands), causing tremendous traffic jams in the Roman roads while traveling. Other recurring topics are flamenco, bullfighting and olive oil. Reference is also made to the famous character of Don Quixote.
When the Gauls visited North America in Asterix and the Great Crossing, Obelix punches one of the attacking Native Americans with a knockout blow. The warrior sees first American-style emblematic eagles; the second time he sees stars in the formation of the Stars and Stripes; the third time, he sees stars shaped like the United States Air Force roundel. Asterix's idea for getting the attention of a nearby Viking ship (which could take them back to Gaul) by holding up a torch refers to the Statue of Liberty (which was a gift from France).
Corsicans are proud, patriotic, and easily aroused, but lazy and make decisions by using pre-filled ballot boxes. They harbour vendettas against each other and always take their siesta.
Greeks are chauvinists and consider Romans, Gauls and others to be barbarians. They eat stuffed grape leaves, drink retsina and are hospitable to tourists. Most seem to be related by blood, and often suggest some cousin appropriate for a job.
Normans (Vikings) drink endlessly, they don't know what fear is (which they're trying to discover) and in their country (Scandinavia) night lasts for 6 months.
Cimbres (Danes) are very similar to the Normans. But while Asterix and Obelix were unable to communicate with them, they are perfectly able to understand the Cimbres. Their names end in -ten, perhaps similar to those of the Normans, whose names end in -sen.
Belgians speak with a funny accent, snub the Gauls and always eat sliced roots deep-fried in bear fat. They also tell Belgian jokes.
Lusitanians (Portuguese) are short in stature and polite (Uderzo said all the Portuguese who he had met were like that).
Sumerians, Assyrians, Hittites, Akkadians, and Babylonians are at war with each other and attack strangers because they confuse them for their enemies, but they apologize when they realize that the strangers are not their enemies. This is likely a criticism of the constant conflicts between the Middle Eastern peoples.
The Jews are all depicted as Yemenite Jews, with dark skin and black eyes and beards, a tribute to Marc Chagall, the famous painter whose painting of King David hangs at the Knesset (Israeli Parliament). Asterix's and Obelix's visit to Jerusalem is full of references to the Bible.
Numidians, contrary to the Berber inhabitants of ancient Numidia, located in North Africa, are obviously Africans from sub-Saharan Africa. The names end in -tha after the historical king Jugurtha of Numidia.
The Picts (Scots) wear a typical dress with kilt (skirt), have the habit of drinking "malt water" (whisky) and throwing logs (caber tossing) as a popular sport and, of course, the names of the characters all start with Mac.
Sarmatians (Russians). Inhabitants of the North Black Sea, who represent present-day Russia. Their names end in -ov, like many Russian surnames
When the Gauls see foreigners speaking their foreign languages, these have different representation in the speech bubbles:
Iberian: Same as Spanish, inversion of exclamations ('¡') and questions ("¿")
Goth language: Gothic script (incomprehensible to the Gauls) (except Getafix)
Viking (Normans and Cimbres): Ø and Å instead of O and A (incomprehensible to the Gauls)
Amerindian: Pictograms and sign language (generally incomprehensible to the Gauls)
Egyptians and Kushites: Hieroglyphics with footnotes (incomprehensible to the Gauls)
Greek: Straight letters, carved
Sarmatian: In their speech balloons, some letters (E, F, N, R ...) are written in a mirrored form, which evokes somewhat the current Cyrillic alphabet.
Translations
The various volumes have been translated into more than 100 languages and dialects. Besides the original French language, most albums are available in Estonian, English, Czech, Dutch, German, Galician, Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Spanish, Catalan, Basque, Portuguese, Italian, modern Greek, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Turkish, Slovene, Bulgarian, Serbian, Croatian, Latvian, Welsh[23] as well as Latin.[24]
Some albums have also been translated into languages such as Esperanto, Scottish Gaelic, Irish, Scots, Indonesian, Persian, Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, Bengali, Afrikaans, Arabic, Hindi, Hebrew, Frisian, Romansch, Vietnamese, Sinhalese, Ancient Greek and Luxembourgish.[23]
In France, Finland, and especially in Germany, several volumes were translated into a variety of regional languages and dialects, such as Alsatian, Breton, Chtimi (Picard) and Corsican in France, Bavarian, Swabian and Low German in Germany, and Savo, Karelia, Rauma and Helsinki slang dialects in Finland. Also, in Portugal, a special edition of the first volume, Asterix the Gaul, was translated into local language Mirandese.[25] In Greece, a number of volumes have appeared in the Cretan Greek, Cypriot Greek and Pontic Greek dialects.[26] In the Italian version, while the Gauls speak standard Italian, the legionaries speak in the Romanesque dialect. In the former Yugoslavia, the "Forum" publishing house translated Corsican text in "Asterix in Corsica" into the Montenegrin dialect of Serbo-Croatian (today called Montenegrin).
In the Netherlands several volumes were translated into West Frisian, a Germanic language spoken in the province of Friesland, into Limburgish, a regional language spoken not only in Dutch Limburg but also in Belgian Limburg and North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and into Tweants, a dialect in the region of Twente in the eastern province of Overijssel. Hungarian-language books have been published in Yugoslavia for the Hungarian minority living in Serbia. Although not a fully autonomous dialect, the books differ slightly from the language of the books issued in Hungary. In Sri Lanka, the cartoon series was adapted into Sinhala (Singhalese) as Sura Pappa.[25]
Most volumes have been translated into Latin and Ancient Greek with accompanying teachers' guides as a way of teaching these ancient languages.
English translation

Before Asterix became famous, translations of some strips were published in British comics including Valiant, Ranger, and Look & Learn, under names Little Fred and Big Ed[27] and Beric the Bold, set in Roman-occupied Britain. These were included in an exhibition on Goscinny's life and career, and Asterix, in London's Jewish Museum in 2018.[28][29]
The translation of the books into English has been done by Derek Hockridge and Anthea Bell, and their English language rendition has been widely praised for maintaining the spirit and humour of the original French version. Derek Hockridge died in 2013 and Anthea Bell retired in 2016 for health reasons. Bell died in 2018.[30] Adriana Hunter is the present translator.
Adaptations
The series has been adapted into various media. There are 14 films, 15 board games, 40 video games, and 1 theme park.
Films

Various motion pictures based upon the series have been made.
Deux Romains en Gaule, 1967 black and white television film, mixed media, live-action with Asterix and Obelix animated.
Asterix the Gaul, 1967, animated, based on the album Asterix the Gaul.
Asterix and the Golden Sickle, 1967, animated, based upon the album Asterix and the Golden Sickle, incomplete and never released.
Asterix and Cleopatra, 1968, animated, based on the album Asterix and Cleopatra.
The Dogmatix Movie, 1973, animated, a unique story based on Dogmatix and his animal friends, Albert Uderzo created a comic version (constituting of 8 comics, as the films is a combination of 8 different stories) of the never released movie in 2003.
The Twelve Tasks of Asterix, 1976, animated, a unique story not based on an existing comic.
Asterix Versus Caesar, 1985, animated, based on both Asterix the Legionary and Asterix the Gladiator.
Asterix in Britain, 1986, animated, based upon the album Asterix in Britain.
Asterix and the Big Fight, 1989, animated, based on both Asterix and the Big Fight and Asterix and the Soothsayer.
Asterix Conquers America, 1994, animated, loosely based upon the album Asterix and the Great Crossing.
Asterix & Obelix: Take on Caesar, 1999, live-action, based primarily upon Asterix the Gaul, Asterix and the Soothsayer, Asterix and the Goths, Asterix the Legionary, and Asterix the Gladiator.
Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, 2002, live-action, based upon the album Asterix and Cleopatra.
Asterix and Obelix in Spain, 2004, live-action, based upon the album Asterix in Spain, incomplete and never released because Asterix and the Vikings was in production as the first Asterix cartoon since Asterix conquers America.
Asterix and the Vikings, 2006, animated, loosely based upon the album Asterix and the Normans.
Asterix at the Olympic Games, 2008, live-action, loosely based upon the album Asterix at the Olympic Games.[23][31][32]
Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia, 2012, live-action, loosely based upon the album Asterix in Britain and Asterix and the Normans.
Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods, 2014, computer-animated, based upon the album The Mansions of the Gods and is the first animated Asterix movie in stereoscopic 3D.
Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion, 2018, computer-animated, original story.
Games

Many gamebooks, board games and video games are based upon the Asterix series. In particular, many video games were released by various computer game publishers.
Theme park

Parc Astérix, a theme park 22 miles north of Paris, based upon the series, was opened in 1989. It is one of the most visited sites in France, with around 1.6million visitors per year.
Influence in popular culture

The first French satellite, which was launched in 1965, was named Astérix-1 in honour of Asterix. Asteroids 29401 Asterix and 29402 Obelix were also named in honour of the characters. Coincidentally, the word Asterix/Asterisk originates from the Greek for Little Star.
During the campaign for Paris to host the 1992 Summer Olympics, Asterix appeared in many posters over the Eiffel Tower.
The French company Belin introduced a series of Asterix crisps shaped in the forms of Roman shields, gourds, wild boar, and bones.
In the UK in 1995, Asterix coins were presented free in every Nutella jar.
In 1991, Asterix and Obelix appeared on the cover of Time for a special edition about France, art directed by Mirko Ilic. In a 2009 issue of the same magazine, Asterix is described as being seen by some as a symbol for France's independence and defiance of globalisation.[33] Despite this, Asterix has made several promotional appearances for fast food chain McDonald's, including one advertisement which featured members of the village enjoying the traditional story-ending feast at a McDonald's restaurant.[34]
Version 4.0 of the operating system OpenBSD features a parody of an Asterix story.[35]
Action Comics Number 579, published by DC Comics in 1986, written by Lofficier and Illustrated by Keith Giffen, featured an homage to Asterix where Superman and Jimmy Olsen are drawn back in time to a small village of indomitable Gauls.
In 2005, the Mirror World Asterix exhibition was held in Brussels. The Belgian post office also released a set of stamps to coincide with the exhibition. A book was released to coincide with the exhibition, containing sections in French, Dutch and English.[36]
On 29 October 2009, the Google homepage of a great number of countries displayed a logo (called Google Doodle) commemorating 50 years of Asterix.[37]
Although they have since changed, the #2 and #3 heralds in the Society for Creative Anachronism's Kingdom of Ansteorra were the Asterisk and Obelisk Heralds.[38]
Asterix and Obelix were the official mascots of the 2017 Ice Hockey World Championships, jointly hosted by France and Germany.
See also

List of Asterix characters
Bande dessinée
English translations of Asterix
List of Asterix games
List of Asterix volumes
Kajko i Kokosz
Roman Gaul, after Julius Caesar's conquest of 58–51 BC that consisted of five provinces
Commentarii de Bello Gallico

Sources

 BDoubliées (in French)
 Bedetheque (in French)

 at Don Markstein's Toonopedia, from the original on 6 April 2012.

 Each Asterix book is examined in detail
 - Cultural allusions (in French)
 – album-by-album explanations of all the historical references and obscure in-jokes


Electric cars (also known as battery electric cars) have several environmental benefits compared to conventional internal combustion engine vehicles. They have lower operating and maintenance costs, and produce little or no local air pollution. They reduce dependence on petroleum and may severally reduce greenhouse gas emissions, depending on the electricity source, as motors are typically much more efficient than their engine equivalents. On the other hand, electric cars can also have a larger environmental footprint during production, and also its reliance of rare-earth elements due to the scarcity of these minerals.
Advantages and disadvantages
Electric cars can have several environmental benefits over conventional internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs), such as:
They have lower operating and maintenance costs, so reducing their environmental footprint as compare with conventional IEVs.[1][2]
a significant reduction of harmful tailpipe pollutants such as particulates (soot), volatile organic compounds, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, ozone, lead, and various oxides of nitrogen.[3][4][5]
the potential for a significant reduction in CO
2 emissions. However, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted depends on the emission intensity of the power sources used to charge the vehicle, the efficiency of the said vehicle and the energy wasted in the charging process. For mains electricity the emission intensity varies significantly per country and within a particular country, and on the demand, the availability of renewable electricity and the efficiency of the occasional fossil fuel-based generation, less and less used.[6][7][8]
Plug-in hybrids capture most of these benefits when they are operating in all-electric mode.
Electric cars have some disadvantages, such as:
Heavy reliance of rare-earth elements such as neodymium, lanthanum, terbium, and dysprosium, and other critical metals such as lithium and cobalt,[9][10] though the quantity of rare metals used differs per car. Reliance on rare earth elements is problematic as these resources are finite.[11]
Possible increased particulate matter emissions from tyres. This is sometimes caused by the fact that most electric cars have a heavy battery, which means the car's tires are subjected to more wear. The brake pads, however, can be used less frequently than in non-electric cars, if regenerative braking is available and may thus sometimes produce less particulate pollution than brakes in non-electric cars[12][13] Also, some electric cars may have a combination of drum brakes and disc brakes, and drum brakes are known to cause less particulate emissions than disc brakes. These disadvantages can be solved using different battery types.
As in combustion cars, the carbon dioxide emitted for the manufacturing should be taken into account.
Lower operating and maintenance costs
All-electric have lower maintenance costs as compared to internal combustion vehicles, since electronic systems break down much less often than the mechanical systems in conventional vehicles, and the fewer mechanical systems on board last longer due to the better use of the electric engine. Electric cars do not require oil changes and other routine maintenance checks.[1][2]
Internal combustion engines are relatively inefficient at converting on-board fuel energy to propulsion as most of the energy is wasted as heat, and the rest while the engine is idling. Electric motors, on the other hand, are more efficient at converting stored energy into driving a vehicle. Electric drive vehicles do not consume energy while at rest or coasting, and modern plug-in cars can capture and reuse as much as one fifth of the energy normally lost during braking through regenerative braking.[1][2] Typically, conventional gasoline engines effectively use only 15% of the fuel energy content to move the vehicle or to power accessories, and diesel engines can reach on-board efficiencies of 20%, while electric drive vehicles typically have on-board efficiencies of around 80%.[1]
Electricity generation for electric cars

Electric cars usually also show significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions, depending on the method used for electricity generation to charge the batteries.[2][14] For example, some battery electric vehicles do not produce CO
2 emissionsat all, but only if their energy is renewable electricity.[15]
Even when the power is generated using fossil fuels, electric vehicles usually, compared to gasoline vehicles, show significant reductions in overall well-wheel global carbon emissions due to the highly carbon-intensive production in mining, pumping, refining, transportation and the efficiencies obtained with gasoline.[16] Researchers in Germany have claimed that while there is some technical superiority of electric propulsion compared with conventional technology that in many countries the effect of electrification of vehicles' fleet emissions will predominantly be due to regulation rather than technology.[17] Indeed, electricity production is submitted to emission quotas, while vehicles' fuel propulsion is not, thus electrification shifts demand from a non-capped sector to a capped sector. This means that the emissions of electrical grids can be expected to improve over time as more wind and solar generation is deployed.
Many countries are introducing CO
2 average emissions targets across all cars sold by a manufacturer, with financial penalties on manufacturers that fail to meet these targets. This has created an incentive for manufacturers, especially those selling many heavy or high-performance cars, to introduce electric cars as a means of reducing average fleet CO
2 emissions.[18]
Air pollution and carbon emissions in various countries

Electric cars have several benefits over conventional internal combustion engine automobiles, including a significant reduction of local air pollution, especially in cities, as they do not emit harmful tailpipe pollutants such as particulates (soot), volatile organic compounds, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, ozone, lead, and various oxides of nitrogen.[3][4][5] The clean air benefit may only be local because, depending on the source of the electricity used to recharge the batteries, air pollutant emissions may be shifted to the location of the generation plants.[2] This is referred to as the long tailpipe of electric vehicles. The amount of carbon dioxide emitted depends on the emission intensity of the power sources used to charge the vehicle, the efficiency of the said vehicle and the energy wasted in the charging process. For mains electricity the emission intensity varies significantly per country and within a particular country, and on the demand, the availability of renewable sources and the efficiency of the fossil fuel-based generation used at a given time.[6][7][8]
Charging a vehicle using renewable energy (e.g., wind power or solar panels) yields very low carbon footprint-only that to produce and install the generation system (see Energy Returned On Energy Invested.) Even on a fossil-fueled grid, it's quite feasible for a household with a solar panel to produce enough energy to account for their electric car usage, thus (on average) cancelling out the emissions of charging the vehicle, whether or not the panel directly charges it.[19] Even when using exclusively grid electricity, introducing EVs comes with a major environmental benefits in most (EU) countries, except those relying on old coal fired power plants.[7] So for example the part of electricity, which is produced with renewable energy is (2014) in Norway 99 percent and in Germany 30 percent.
United States

The following table compares tailpipe and upstream CO
2 emissions estimated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for all series production model year 2014 all-electric passenger vehicles available in the U.S. market. Since all-electric cars do not produce tailpipe emissions, for comparison purposes the two most fuel efficient plug-in hybrids and the typical gasoline-powered car are included in the table. Total emissions include the emissions associated with the production and distribution of electricity used to charge the vehicle, and for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, it also includes emissions associated with tailpipe emissions produced from the internal combustion engine. These figures were published by the EPA in October in its 2014 report "Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends."[21]
To account for the upstream CO
2 emissions associated with the production and distribution of electricity, and since electricity production in the United States varies significantly from region to region, the EPA considered three scenarios/ranges with the low end scenario corresponding to the California powerplant emissions factor, the middle of the range represented by the national average powerplant emissions factor, and the upper end of the range corresponding to the powerplant emissions factor for the Rocky Mountains. The EPA estimates that the electricity GHG emission factors for various regions of the country vary from 346g CO
2/kWh in California to 986g CO
2/kWh in the Rockies, with a national average of 648g CO
2/kWh.[21] In the case of plug-in hybrids, and since their all-electric range depends on the size of the battery pack, the analysis introduced a utility factor as a projection of the share of miles that will be driven using electricity by an average driver.[21]

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) published in 2012, a report with an assessment of average greenhouse gas emissions resulting from charging plug-in car batteries considering the full life-cycle (well-to-wheel analysis) and the fuel used to generate electric power by region in the U.S. The study used the Nissan Leaf all-electric car to establish the analysis's baseline. The UCS study expressed the results in terms of miles per gallon instead of the conventional unit of grams of carbon dioxide emissions per year. The study found that in areas where electricity is generated from natural gas, nuclear, or renewable resources such as hydroelectric, the potential of plug-in electric cars to reduce greenhouse emissions is significant. On the other hand, in regions where a high proportion of power is generated from coal, hybrid electric cars produce less CO
2 emissions than plug-in electric cars, and the best fuel efficient gasoline-powered subcompact car produces slightly less emissions than a plug-in car. In the worst-case scenario, the study estimated that for a region where all energy is generated from coal, a plug-in electric car would emit greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to a gasoline car rated at a combined city/highway fuel economy of 30mpg‑US (7.8L/100km; 36mpg‑imp). In contrast, in a region that is completely reliant on natural gas, the plug-in would be equivalent to a gasoline-powered car rated at 50mpg‑US (4.7L/100km; 60mpg‑imp) combined.[23][24]
The study found that for 45% of the U.S. population, a plug-in electric car will generate lower CO
2 emissions than a gasoline-powered car capable of a combined fuel economy of 50mpg‑US (4.7L/100km; 60mpg‑imp), such as the Toyota Prius. Cities in this group included Portland, Oregon, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, and Salt Lake City, and the cleanest cities achieved well-to-wheel emissions equivalent to a fuel economy of 79mpg‑US (3.0L/100km; 95mpg‑imp). The study also found that for 37% of the population, the electric car emissions will fall in the range of a gasoline-powered car rated at a combined fuel economy between 41 to 50mpg‑US (5.7 to 4.7L/100km; 49 to 60mpg‑imp), such as the Honda Civic Hybrid and the Lexus CT200h. Cities in this group include Phoenix, Arizona, Houston, Miami, Columbus, Ohio and Atlanta, Georgia. An 18% of the population lives in areas where the power supply is more dependent on burning carbon, and emissions will be equivalent to a car rated at a combined fuel economy between 31 to 40mpg‑US (7.6 to 5.9L/100km; 37 to 48mpg‑imp), such as the Chevrolet Cruze and Ford Focus. This group includes Denver, Minneapolis, Saint Louis, Missouri, Detroit, and Oklahoma City.[24][25][26] The study found that there are no regions in the U.S. where plug-in electric cars will have higher greenhouse gas emissions than the average new compact gasoline engine automobile, and the area with the dirtiest power supply produces CO
2 emissions equivalent to a gasoline-powered car rated 33mpg‑US (7.1L/100km; 40mpg‑imp).[23]
In September 2014, the UCS published an updated analysis of its 2012 report. The 2014 analysis found that 60% of Americans, up from 45% in 2009, live in regions where an all-electric car produce fewer CO
2 equivalent emissions per mile than the most efficient hybrid. The UCS study found two reasons for the improvement. First, electric utilities have adopted cleaner sources of electricity to their mix between the two analysis. Second, electric vehicles have become more efficient, as the average 2013 all-electric vehicle used 0.33 kWh per mile (0.21 kWh/km), representing a 5% improvement over 2011 models. Also, some new models are cleaner than the average, such as the BMW i3, which is rated at 0.27 kWh by the EPA. In states with a cleaner mix generation, the gains were larger. The average all-electric car in California went up to 95mpg‑US (2.5L/100km) equivalent from 78mpg‑US (3.0L/100km) in the 2012 study. States with dirtier generation that rely heavily on coal still lag, such as Colorado, where the average BEV only achieves the same emissions as a 34mpg‑US (6.9L/100km; 41mpg‑imp) gasoline-powered car. The author of the 2014 analysis noted that the benefits are not distributed evenly across the U.S. because electric car adoptions is concentrated in the states with cleaner power.[27][28]
Improving on the UCS analysis and several others, an analysis by economists affiliated with the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), published in November 2014, estimated marginal emissions of electricity demand that vary by location and time of day across the United States.[29][30] The marginal analysis, applied to plug-in electric vehicles, found that the emissions of charging PEVs vary by region and hours of the day. In some regions, such as the Western U.S. and Texas, CO
2 emissions per mile from driving PEVs are less than those from driving a hybrid car. However, in other regions, such as the Upper Midwest, charging during the recommended hours of midnight to 4a.m. implies that PEVs generate more emissions per mile than the average car currently on the road.

The results show a tension between electricity load management and environmental goals as the hours when electricity is the least expensive to produce tend to be the hours with the greatest emissions. This occurs because coal-fired plants, which have higher emission rates, are most commonly used to meet base-level and off-peak electricity demand; while natural gas plants, which have relatively low emissions rates, are often brought online to meet peak demand.[30]
In November 2015, the Union of Concerned Scientists published a new report comparing two battery electric vehicles (BEVs) with similar gasoline vehicles by examining their global warming emissions over their full life-cycle, craddle-to-grave analysis. The two BEVs modeled, midsize and full-size, are based on the two most popular BEV models sold in the United States in 2015, the Nissan LEAF and the Tesla Model S. The study found that all-electric cars representative of those sold today, on average produce less than half the global warming emissions of comparable gasoline-powered vehicles, despite higher emissions of manufacture. Considering the regions where the two most popular electric cars are being sold, excess manufacturing emissions are offset within 6 to 16 months of average driving. The study also concluded that driving an average EV results in lower global warming emissions than driving a gasoline car that gets 50mpg‑US (4.7L/100km) in regions covering two-thirds of the U.S. population, up from 45% in 2009. Based on where EVs are sold in the U.S. in 2015, the average EV produces global warming emissions equal to a gasoline vehicle with a 68mpg‑US (3.5L/100km) fuel economy rating. The authors identified two main reasons for this reduction since the 2012 study. Electricity generation has become cleaner, as coal-fired generation has declined while lower-carbon alternatives have increased. In addition, electric cars are becoming more efficient. For example, the Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Volt, have undergone efficiency improvements to the original 2010 models, and other, more efficient BEV models, such as the most lightweight and efficient BMW i3, have entered the market.[31][32]
United Kingdom
A study made in the UK in 2008, concluded that electric vehicles had the potential to reduce carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40%, even taking into account the emissions due to current electricity generation in the UK and emissions relating to the production and disposal of electric vehicles.[33] The savings are questionable relative to hybrid or diesel cars. (According to official British government testing, the most efficient European market cars are well below 115grams of CO
2 per kilometer driven, although a study in Scotland gave 149.5gCO
2/km as the average for new cars in the UK.[34]) But because UK consumers can select their energy suppliers, it also depends on how 'green' their chosen supplier is in providing energy into the grid. Unlike other countries, in the UK a stable proportion of the electricity is produced by nuclear, coal and gas plants. Therefore, there are only minor differences in the environmental impact over the year.[7]
Germany
In a worst-case scenario where incremental electricity demand would be met exclusively with coal, a 2009 study conducted by the World Wide Fund for Nature and IZES found that a mid-size EV would emit roughly 200g(CO2)/km (11oz(CO2)/mi), compared with an average of 170g(CO2)/km (9.7oz(CO2)/mi) for a gasoline-powered compact car.[35] This study concluded that introducing 1million EV cars to Germany would, in the best-case scenario, only reduce CO
2 emissions by 0.1%, if nothing is done to upgrade the electricity infrastructure or manage demand.[35] A more reasonable estimate, relaxing the coal assumption, was provided by Massiani and Weinmann taking into account that the source of energy used for electricity generation would be determined based on the temporal pattern of the additional electricity demand (in other words an increase in electricity consumption at peak hour will activate the marginal technology, while an off peak increase would typically activate other technologies). Their conclusion is that natural gas will provide most of the energy used to reload EV, while renewable energy will not represent more than a few percent of the energy used.[36]
Volkswagen conducted a life-cycle assessment of its electric vehicles certified by an independent inspection agency. The study found that CO
2 emissions during the use phase of its all-electric VW e-Golf are 99% lower than those of the Golf 1.2 TSI when powers comes from exclusively hydroelectricity generated in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Accounting for the electric car entire life-cycle, the e-Golf reduces emissions by 61%. When the actual EU-27 electricity mix is considered, the e-Golf emissions are still 26% lower than those of the conventional Golf 1.2 TSI.[37] In 2014 in Germany, 28 percent of whole electricity was renewable energy produced in Germany.
France and Belgium
In France and Belgium, which have many nuclear power plants, CO
2 emissions from electric car use would be about 12 g/km (19.3 g/mi).[38] Because of the stable nuclear production, the timing of charging electric cars has almost no impact on their environmental footprint.[7]
Environmental impact of manufacturing
Electric cars also have impacts arising from the manufacturing of the vehicle.[39][40] Since battery packs are heavy, manufacturers work to lighten the rest of the vehicle. As a result, electric car components contain many lightweight materials that require a lot of energy to produce and process, such as aluminium and carbon-fiber-reinforced polymers. Electric motors and batteries add to the energy of electric-car manufacture.[41] Also, the magnets in the motors of many electric vehicles contain rare-earth metals. In a study released in 2012, a group of MIT researchers calculated that global mining of two rare-earth metals, neodymium and dysprosium, would need to increase 700% and 2600%, respectively, over the next 25 years to keep pace with various green-tech plans.[42] Substitute strategies introduce trade-offs in efficiency and cost.[41] The same MIT study noted that the materials used in batteries are harmful to the environment.[43] Mining and processing of metals such as lithium, copper, and nickel uses energy and can release toxic compounds. In regions with poor legislature, mineral exploitation can increase risks further. The local population may be exposed to toxic substances through air and groundwater contamination.[41].
A report published in June 2011, prepared by Ricardo in collaboration with experts from the UK's Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership, found that hybrid electric cars, plug-in hybrids and all-electric cars generate more carbon emissions during their production than current conventional vehicles, but still have a lower overall carbon footprint over the full life cycle. The higher carbon footprint during production of electric drive vehicles is due mainly to the production of batteries. As an example, 43% of production emissions for a mid-size electric car are generated from the battery production, while for standard mid-sized gasoline internal combustion engine vehicle, around 75% of the embedded carbon emissions during production comes from the steel used in the vehicle glider.[44] The following table summarizes key results of this study for four powertrain technologies:

The Ricardo study also found that the lifecycle carbon emissions for mid-sized gasoline and diesel vehicles are almost identical, and that the greater fuel efficiency of the diesel engine is offset by higher production emissions.[44]
A paper published in 2012 in the Journal of Industrial Ecology named "Comparative environmental life cycle assessment of conventional and electric vehicles" begins by stating that it is important to address concerns of problem-shifting.[45] The study highlighted in particular the toxicity of the electric car's manufacturing process compared to conventional petrol/diesel cars. It concludes that the global warming potential of the process used to make electric cars is twice that of conventional cars. The study also finds that electric cars do not make sense if the electricity they consume is produced predominately by coal-fired power plants.[46] However, the study was later corrected by the authors due to overstating the environmental damage of electric vehicles; many of the electric vehicle components had been incorrectly modelled, and the European power grids were cleaner in many respects than the paper had assumed.[47]
Several reports have found that hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and all-electric cars generate more carbon emissions during their production than current conventional vehicles. Study of electric car production in Malaysia estimated a compact electric car production release 5,791kg CO
2 per unit against conventional vehicles 4,166kg CO
2,[48] but still have a lower overall carbon footprint over the full life cycle. The initial higher carbon footprint is due mainly to battery production.[7]
In February 2014, the Automotive Science Group (ASG) published the result of a study conducted to assess the life-cycle of over 1,300 automobiles across nine categories sold in North America. The study found that among advanced automotive technologies, the Nissan Leaf holds the smallest life-cycle environmental footprint of any model year 2014 automobile available in the North American market with at least four-person occupancy. The study concluded that the increased environmental impacts of manufacturing the battery electric technology is more than offset with increased environmental performance during operational life. For the assessment, the study used the average electricity mix of the U.S. grid in 2014.[49][50]
In 2017, a report made by IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute also calculated that the CO2 emissions of lithium-ion batteries (present in many electric cars today) are in the order of 150–200 kilos of carbon dioxide equivalents per kilowatt-hour battery.[51] Half of the CO2 emissions (50%) comes from cell manufacturing, whereas mining and refining contributes only a small part of the CO2 emissions. In practice, emissions in the order of 150–200 kilos of carbon dioxide equivalents per kilowatt-hour means that an electric car with a 100kWh battery will thus have emitted 15–20 tons of carbon dioxide even before the vehicle ignition is turned on. One of the authors, Mats-Ola Larsson, reportedly said that this is the same amount of emissions as driving a gasoline car for 8,2 years.[52] However, Popular Mechanics calculates that even if the 15–20 tons estimate is correct, it would only take 2.4 years of driving for the electric car with a 100kWh battery to recover the greenhouse emissions from the battery manufacturing. It however does not calculate in the emissions from battery replacements (battery replacement of regular lithium-ion batteries needs to be done every 2–3 years; lithium-ion batteries from cars typically last longer though).[53][54][55][56] Furthermore, two other studies suggest a 100kWh battery would generate about 6-6.4 tons of CO2 emissions, so significantly less than what the IVL study claims.[57][58]
Rare-earth metals availability and supply security
Common technology for plug-ins and electric cars is based on the lithium-ion battery and an electric motor which uses rare-earth elements. The demand for lithium, heavy metals, and other specific elements (such as neodymium, boron and cobalt) required for the batteries and powertrain is expected to grow significantly due to the future sales increase of plug-in electric vehicles in the mid and long term.[59][60] As of 2011, the Toyota Prius battery contains more than 20lb (9.1kg) of the rare-earth element lanthanum,[61] and its motor magnets use neodymium and dysprosium.[62] While only 0.25oz (7g) of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) are required in a smartphone and 1.1oz (30g) in a tablet computer, electric vehicles and stationary energy storage systems for homes, businesses or industry use much more lithium in their batteries. As of 2016 a hybrid electric passenger car might use 11lb (5kg) of LCE, while one of Tesla's high performance electric cars could use as much as 180lb (80kg).[63]
Some of the largest world reserves of lithium and other rare metals are located in countries with strong resource nationalism, unstable governments or hostility to U.S. interests, raising concerns about the risk of replacing dependence on foreign oil with a new dependence on hostile countries to supply strategic materials.[59][60][64][65]
Lithium

The main deposits of lithium are found in China and throughout the Andes mountain chain in South America. In 2008 Chile was the leading lithium metal producer with almost 30%, followed by China, Argentina, and Australia.[60][67] In the United States lithium is recovered from brine pools in Nevada.[68][69]
Nearly half the world's known reserves are located in Bolivia,[60][64] and according to the US Geological Survey, Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni desert has 5.4 million tons of lithium.[64][68] Other important reserves are located in Chile, China, and Brazil.[60][68] Since 2006 the Bolivian government have nationalized oil and gas projects and is keeping a tight control over mining its lithium reserves. Already the Japanese and South Korean governments, as well as companies from these two countries and France, have offered technical assistance to develop Bolivia's lithium reserves and are seeking to gain access to the lithium resources through a mining and industrialization model suitable to Bolivian interests.[64][70][71]
According to a 2011 study conducted at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California Berkeley, the currently estimated reserve base of lithium should not be a limiting factor for large-scale battery production for electric vehicles, as the study estimated that on the order of 1 billion 40 kWh Li-based batteries (about 10kg of lithium per car)[72] could be built with current reserves, as estimated by the U.S. Geological Survey.[73] Another 2011 study by researchers from the University of Michigan and Ford Motor Company found that there are sufficient lithium resources to support global demand until 2100, including the lithium required for the potential widespread use of hybrid electric, plug-in hybrid electric and battery electric vehicles. The study estimated global lithium reserves at 39 million tons, and total demand for lithium during the 90-year period analyzed at 12–20 million tons, depending on the scenarios regarding economic growth and recycling rates.[74]
A 2016 study by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) found that availability of lithium and other finite materials used in the battery packs will not be a limiting factor for the adoption of electric vehicles. BNEF estimated that battery packs will require less than 1% of the known reserves of lithium, nickel, manganese, and copper through 2030, and 4% of the world’s cobalt. After 2030, the study states that new battery chemistries will probably shift to other source materials, making packs lighter, smaller, and cheaper.[75]
Rare-earth elements
China has 48% of the world's reserves of rare-earth elements, the United States has 13%, and Russia, Australia, and Canada have significant deposits. Until the 1980s, the U.S. led the world in rare-earth production, but since the mid-1990s China has controlled the world market for these elements. The mines in Bayan Obo near Baotou, Inner Mongolia, are currently the largest source of rare-earth metals and are 80% of China's production. In 2010 China accounted for 97% of the global production of 17 rare-earth elements.[61] Since 2006 the Chinese government has been imposing export quotas reducing supply at a rate of 5% to 10% a year.[65][76][77]
Prices of several rare-earth elements increased sharply by mid-2010 as China imposed a 40% export reduction, citing environmental concerns as the reason for the export restrictions. These quotas have been interpreted as an attempt to control the supply of rare earths. However, the high prices have provided an incentive to begin or reactivate several rare-earth mining projects around the world, including the United States, Australia, Vietnam, and Kazakhstan.[76][77][78][79]

In September 2010, China temporarily blocked all exports of rare earths to Japan in the midst of a diplomatic dispute between the two countries. These minerals are used in hybrid cars and other products such wind turbines and guided missiles, thereby augmenting the worries about the dependence on Chinese rare-earth elements and the need for geographic diversity of supply.[77][80] A December 2010 report published by the US DoE found that the American economy vulnerable to rare-earth shortages and estimates that it could take 15 years to overcome dependence on Chinese supplies.[81][82] China raised export taxes for some rare earths from 15 to 25%, and also extended taxes to exports of some rare-earth alloys that were not taxed before. The Chinese government also announced further reductions on its export quotas for the first months of 2011, which represent a 35% reduction in tonnage as compared to exports during the first half of 2010.[83]
On September 29, 2010, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Rare Earths and Critical Materials Revitalization Act of 2010 (H.R.6160).[84][85] The approved legislation is aimed at restoring the U.S. as a leading producer of rare-earth elements, and would support activities in the U.S. Department of Energy (US DoE) to discover and develop rare-earth sites inside of the U.S. in an effort to reduce the auto industry's near-complete dependence on China for the minerals.[85][86] A similar bill, the Rare Earths Supply Technology and Resources Transformation Act of 2010 (S. 3521), is being discussed in the U.S. Senate.[85][87]
In order to avoid its dependence on rare-earth minerals, Toyota Motor Corporation announced in January 2011 that it is developing an alternative motor for future hybrid and electric cars that does not need rare-earth materials. Toyota engineers in Japan and the U.S. are developing an induction motor that is lighter and more efficient than the magnet-type motor used in the Prius, which uses two rare earths in its motor magnets. Other popular hybrids and plug-in electric cars in the market that use these rare-earth elements are the Nissan Leaf, the Chevrolet Volt and Honda Insight. For its second generation RAV4 EV due in 2012, Toyota is using an induction motor supplied by Tesla Motors that does not require rare-earth materials. The Tesla Roadster and the Tesla Model S use a similar motor.[62]
Less dependence on imported oil

Through the gradual replacement of internal combustion engine vehicles for electric cars and plug-in hybrids, electric drive vehicles can contribute significantly to lessen the dependence of the transport sector on imported oil as well as contributing to the development of a more resilient energy supply, with the associated environmental benefits.[2][88][89][90]
For many net oil importing countries the 2000s energy crisis brought back concerns first raised during the 1973 oil crisis. For the United States, the other developed countries and emerging countries their dependence on foreign oil has revived concerns about their vulnerability to price shocks and supply disruption. Also, there have been concerns about the uncertainty surrounding peak oil production and the higher cost of extracting unconventional oil. A third issue that has been raised is the threat to national security because most proven oil reserves are concentrated in relatively few geographic locations, including some countries with strong resource nationalism, unstable governments or hostile to U.S. interests.[2][88][89] In addition, for many developing countries, and particularly for the poorest African countries, high oil prices have an adverse impact on the government budget and deteriorate their terms of trade thus jeopardizing their balance of payments, all leading to lower economic growth.[91][92]
See also
Fuel cell car: car powered by an electric motor, fed by a fuel cell; this does not have some of the disadvantages noted in this article
Solar car: car powered by an electric motor, fed by a PV-panel; this does not have some of the disadvantages noted in this article
Induction motor: does not have permanent (rare-earth) magnets[93]
Plug-in hybrid electric car:  is a hybrid electric vehicle whose battery can be recharged by plugging it into an external source of electric power, as well by its on-board engine and generator. While running in all-electric mode (EV mode), the plug-in hybrid operation is similar to an all-electric vehicle.

, Dan Roupe, September 2015.
, Shrink that Footprint, February 2013.

, United Nations,
Climate Summit 2014, September 2014

Environmental aspects of the electric car

How long do electric cars hold a charge?