False and misleading information about electric vehicles is widespread in Montenegro, Croatia, and other Mediterranean countries in Europe, according to a research conducted by Faktograf.hr and Raskrinkavanje.me.
The comparative analysis covered, in addition to Montenegro and Croatia, Spain, Italy, France, and Greece, and showed that three dominant narratives prevail in the misinformation about electric vehicles:
“Electric vehicles are unsafe and/or unreliable” – claims that electric cars are dangerous, unreliable, or impractical (for example, that electric vehicles are prone to catastrophic fires or cannot function in certain conditions).
“Climate policies are harmful and/or unnecessary” – claims targeting government policies or environmental initiatives involving electric vehicles, portraying them as ineffective or even damaging.
“Scientific knowledge about electric vehicles is unreliable” – claims that distort or undermine scientific facts related to electric vehicles.
The two newsrooms examined the prevalence of false and misleading information about electric vehicles in each of the observed countries, identified the dominant narratives, and analyzed how these patterns intersect with the specific context of each country.
The analysis considered levels of public trust in institutions and the media, electric vehicle adoption rates, the availability of charging infrastructure, as well as a broader set of socioeconomic factors—such as average household wealth and the level of development of the railway transport network.
The research found that electric vehicles currently account for 0.4 percent of the vehicle fleet in Croatia, while in Montenegro, as of November 1, there were 737 fully electric vehicles registered, representing 0.2 percent of the total vehicle fleet.
France has the highest share of electric vehicles in its passenger car fleet, at 2.2 percent, followed by Spain with 0.6 percent and Italy with 0.5 percent, while Greece has the same share as Montenegro, at 0.2 percent.
Based on the available data, it can be concluded that the dominant misleading narratives about electric vehicles in each country exploit local “weak points,” whether these involve fear of new technologies, dissatisfaction with politicians, or distrust in experts.
In Spain, Italy, Croatia, and Montenegro, the dominant narrative focuses on the safety and reliability of electric vehicles; in France, skepticism toward the effectiveness of climate policies prevails; while in Greece, distrust in science is the most pronounced narrative. Understanding these nuances is crucial for designing effective responses to false and misleading information.
The full analysis is available at the link.