🔗 Share this article

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles produce nearly five times more global warming emissions than lab-reported figures indicate, according to a recent analysis.

Growing Discrepancy Between Official and Actual CO2 Output

Statistics reveals that PHEVs emit just one-fifth lower CO₂ than conventional gas and diesel vehicles, based on research carried out by a advocacy organization. That differs significantly with laboratory tests, which suggested a three-quarters reduction in pollution.

Researchers studied information from in-vehicle fuel consumption monitors of eight hundred thousand vehicles registered in the EU between 2021 and 2023. The team discovered that real-world CO₂ output from PHEVs in 2023 were nearly five times higher than official figures, up from three and a half times in 2021.

“Real-world emissions are increasing, while official emissions are falling,” stated a senior analyst participating in the report. “This gap is growing and creates a serious problem. As a result, PHEVs pollute almost as much as gasoline cars.”

Key Factors Behind the Discrepancy

Researchers linked the majority of the difference to overestimates of the “utility factor” – the ratio of miles driven in electric power relative to overall distance. The team found that only 27% of driving was done in EV mode, whereas lab assumptions suggested over four-fifths.

Even, when running in electric mode, pollution amounts were significantly higher than official estimates. That happened because electric motors were insufficiently powerful sufficient to operate alone, resulting to combustion motors using fossil fuels for almost a third of the distance covered in EV mode.

Policy and Financial Implications

According to calculations, the lowballing of PHEV emissions enabled several major carmaker companies to escape over €5bn in penalties from 2021 and 2023, by artificially simplifying compliance with European Union fleet-average CO₂ standards.

Furthermore, drivers of PHEVs could pay about €500 extra per year in running expenses than would be assumed under lab tests.

“The bold statements that automakers like to make about their PHEV vehicles are obviously far from the mark,” commented a automotive expert. “Buyers are being duped into believing that by purchasing a PHEV, they are benefiting the planet and cutting money. In reality, PHEVs are little better than standard gas and diesel vehicles in terms of fuel consumption, CO₂ production, and operating costs.”

Policy Discussion and Automotive Pressure

Plug-in hybrid cars have lately been brought back into policy debates as automakers have lobbied the EU to weaken CO₂ standards. A proposed ban on sales of new combustion engine vehicles in 2035 has faced intense lobbying from the automotive sector and opposition from member states with large automotive industries.

Several senior officials have proposed PHEVs as a possible “flexibility” solution to introduce in the regulation.

An independent energy policy specialist, who was not involved with the research, described the analysis a “very useful addition” after years in which segments of the car sector argued there was too little information to accurately evaluate real-world CO2 output.

“The results demonstrate, without question, that the gap in lab and real-world PHEV fuel consumption and CO₂ output is significantly larger than for gasoline or conventional vehicles,” the expert stated. “Any regulatory adjustments regarding PHEVs should be made with utmost care and in the light of that data.”