A provocative new study says replacing even a nearly new petrol car with an EV can reduce carbon emissions. The maths is credible, but real cars, real owners and the global motor industry make the answer more complicated

Imagine you own a perfectly good petrol car. It works, it is reliable and it might be only a year or two old. According to a startling new scientific study, the environmentally responsible thing could be to scrap it and buy a brand-new electric car. Yes, really. New Scientist summed up the finding with the wonderfully provocative headline: “It’s good for the planet to scrap a new petrol car and buy electric.”