New human rights ranking of electric vehicle industry exposes laggards

Electric vehicle giants BYD, Mitsubishi and Hyundai have scored the worst in a new human rights ranking of the industry conducted by Amnesty International. The study reveals how the world’s leading electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers are not adequately demonstrating how they address human rights risks in their mineral supply chains, potentially leaving communities exposed to exploitation, health risks and environmental harm caused by the rapid expansion of mines required for the metals used in batteries.

In the new report, Recharge for Rights: Ranking the Human Rights Due Diligence Reporting of Leading Electric Vehicle Makers, Amnesty International uses criteria based on international standards to comprehensively assess human rights due diligence policies and self-reported practices of 13 major EV manufacturers, issuing each one with a scorecard. The scorecard breaks down whether these car brands are meeting their human rights responsibilities and highlights which of them are failing to show that they are addressing human rights concerns.

The human rights abuses tied to the extraction of energy transition minerals are alarming and pervasive and the industry’s response is sorely lacking.

As global demand for battery minerals soars, the report calls for car makers to identify and mitigate human rights risks in their supply chains such as forced evictions, health harms from environmental pollution, and abuse of Indigenous Peoples’ rights in countries where minerals are extracted such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Philippines.

“The huge rise in demand for the metals needed to make electric vehicle batteries is putting immense pressures on mining-affected communities,” said Amnesty’s International’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard.

“The human rights abuses tied to the extraction of energy transition minerals are alarming and pervasive and the industry’s response is sorely lacking. Communities are suffering from forced evictions, health issues caused by pollution and difficulties accessing water. As demand for electric vehicles increases, manufacturers must ensure people’s human rights are respected.”

Amnesty’s scorecard, which is marked out of 90, assesses companies’ performance on criteria including commitment to human rights policies, risk identification process, supply chain mapping and reporting and remediation.

None of the companies scored higher than 51 on Amnesty International’s human rights due diligence assessment. At the bottom of the list was Chinese company BYD, which scored a dire 11/90. German company Mercedes-Benz scored highest with 51/90.

The commitments these companies report on are often vague and provide little evidence of meaningful action, showing they have a long way to go to meet international standards.

“While some progress was made, across the board, the scores were a massive disappointment. BYD, one of the largest and fastest growing electric vehicle companies, ranked at the bottom of our assessment. Its disclosures show a serious lack of transparency on human rights diligence in its battery supply chains,” said Agnès Callamard.

“Other low-scoring firms, such as Hyundai and Mitsubishi, lack the necessary depth and information about implementation across key human rights due diligence areas. The commitments these companies report on are often vague and provide little evidence of meaningful action, showing they have a long way to go to meet international standards.”

While companies like Renault and General Motors have stated commitments to human rights due diligence and rank higher than some of the lowest scoring companies, they still provide limited evidence of fully integrating these commitments into their supply chain operations, with limited information about their risk assessments and stakeholder engagement and lack of transparency when it comes to the supply chain.

“The lack of transparency around supply chains demonstrated by these companies is a serious problem considering the likelihood that they may be sourcing batteries made with minerals such as cobalt or nickel mined in conditions that could harm people’s human rights,” said Agnès Callamard.

Although a rapid transition from fossil fuel powered to electric vehicles is urgently needed to accelerate decarbonization and help slow the rate of global temperature rise, it comes with a hidden cost.

“Mining for the minerals used in electric vehicles can entail huge risks for people and the environment. Amnesty International’s previous research has shown how industrial cobalt is linked to forced evictions in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Car companies need to use their massive leverage as global minerals buyers to influence upstream mining companies and smelters to mitigate these human rights risks,” said Agnès Callamard.

In terms of supply chain mapping disclosures, companies like BYD, Geely Auto, Hyundai, General Motors, and Mitsubishi Motors scored the lowest, failing to provide detailed information about their supply chains. Furthermore, BYD does not disclose smelter, refiner, or mine site names. Geely Auto provided only general supplier locations without specifying mineral extraction sites.

Hyundai and Mitsubishi Motors demonstrated a similar lack of transparency, with no evidence of comprehensive supply chain mapping or mine site identification for cobalt, copper, lithium, and nickel, making it difficult for stakeholders to verify how these operations affect nearby communities.

All companies, including those involved in the EV battery supply chain, have a responsibility to respect all human rights wherever they operate. To meet their responsibility to respect human rights, as outlined in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), companies must implement a human rights due diligence process to identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for how they address adverse human rights impacts that they may cause, contribute to, or be directly linked to through their operations, products, or services.

While some of the companies assessed have taken positive steps to acknowledge their human rights responsibilities and align corporate policies with international human rights standards, a lot more needs to be done. For example, BMW, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, Tesla and VW Group were among the higher scorers, yet they could still do more to show how they’re actually implementing their policies through addressing human rights risks and providing effective remedy to affected people.

It’s time to shift gears and ensure electric vehicles don’t leave behind a legacy of human rights abuses – instead, the industry must drive a just energy future that leaves no one behind.

“As the global transition to electric vehicles gains momentum, drives global competition and allows for huge profit, Amnesty International is calling on all car makers to improve their human rights due diligence efforts and bring them in line with international human rights standards,” said Agnès Callamard. “We are also calling on governments to strengthen their own human rights due diligence regulation over the companies incorporated on their territories or their exports and import licenses.”

“Those lagging behind need to work harder and faster to show that human rights isn’t just a fluff phrase, but an issue they take seriously. It’s time to shift gears and ensure electric vehicles don’t leave behind a legacy of human rights abuses – instead, the industry must drive a just energy future that leaves no one behind.”