The World Copper Factbook 2019 International Copper Study Group 49 Major Uses of Copper Transportation All major fo rms of transportation depend on copper to perform critical functions Copper nickel alloys are used on th e hulls of boats and ships to reduce marine befouling thereb y reducing drag and improving fuel consumption Automobiles and trucks rely on copper motors wiring rad i ators connectors brakes and bearings Today the average int e rnal combustion engine contains about 22 5 kg 50 lbs of copper while luxury cars on av erag e contain around 1500 copper wires totaling about 1 6 km 1 mile in length ELECTRIC VEHICLES Electric veh i cles EVs contain approximately four times more copper than conventional cars It is used in batteries windings and copper rotors used in electri c motors wi ring busba rs and charging infrastructure It is estimated that globally over 5 million elect r ic vehicles were on the road in 2018 In an effort to reduce carb on emission s it is expected that the use of EVs will continue to rise The demand for EVs is also expect ed to increase as a result of technology improvements increas e d affordab ility and th e deployment of Images co urte sy of th e Co p p e r Developme n t Association and the Euro p e an Co pper In st it u t e