An assessment says electric vehicles are changing the auto industry’s supply-chain structure faster than internal-combustion vehicles. It said EV-driven changes have become clearer in battery recycling, the use of low-carbon steel and aluminium, and responsible sourcing of battery minerals.

On April 20, EV outlet CleanTechnica reported that the recently released Lead the Charge Auto Supply Chain leaderboard pointed to major automakers moving to build cleaner and more transparent supply chains driven by EVs.

The key is EVs’ structural differences. Unlike internal-combustion vehicles, EVs are designed around the traction battery, creating more room to redesign the entire supply chain from raw-material procurement to reuse and recycling. The outlet said EVs are already more sustainable than gasoline vehicles and are pushing supply-chain transparency and circular structures across the industry that are hard to achieve with internal-combustion vehicles.

Changes are also emerging in practice. Among the 18 companies assessed, more than half made progress over the past year in battery recycling and reuse. Tesla disclosed specific points where emissions are concentrated in its battery supply chain and presented measures to cut them, setting a new industry benchmark. Mercedes, Ford and Volkswagen applied stricter battery-mineral sourcing standards and demanded responsible mining standards from suppliers.

The trend also aligns with stronger transparency in material procurement. If supply-chain information is disclosed, it becomes possible to confirm where minerals came from, what labour conditions were like, and what processing steps follow when a battery reaches end of use.

Problems remain. Coal-based steel production, labour issues and destructive mining practices have not disappeared. Even so, the article also presented that the baseline for EV supply chains is already higher than in the era of gasoline vehicles and continues to rise.

Regulation and consumer demand are both influencing changes in the automaking industry. The European Union’s battery regulation requires automakers to trace supply chains, source battery minerals responsibly and meet battery-recycling obligations. The article said such obligations did not exist in the past and were difficult to apply or held limited meaning within internal-combustion vehicle structures.

Consumer awareness has also emerged as a variable. A Plug In America (PIA) survey found that “clean air and environmental protection” has been cited each year as the top factor in EV purchases, and about 40 percent of respondents chose it in 2025. It said cleaner EV supply chains are not only the right choice but also commercially advantageous.

Against this backdrop, some companies have begun to present supply chains themselves as part of product competitiveness. Mercedes and Volvo promoted pollution-reduction results for their latest models, the CLA and ES90, while disclosing figures for their use of low-carbon steel and aluminium. As a result, consumers can compare not only driving range and charging speed but also the environmental cost of materials used to make vehicles.

The broader industrial impact is also significant. Automakers are the world’s biggest source of aluminium demand and a major buyer of steel, and the two industries are known to account for about 13 percent of global pollution. The article said that as EV makers’ demand for low-carbon materials grows, pressure could increase for changes in how the steel and aluminium industries produce their products.

Ultimately, the shift to EVs is expanding beyond changing a vehicle’s power source into a process that transforms the entire manufacturing ecosystem. With supply-chain carbon emissions and recycling structures, raw-material procurement standards and levels of disclosure becoming competitive factors, gaps among automakers are expected to become clearer in this area.