🔗 Share this article

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles produce nearly five times more planet-heating emissions than lab-reported figures show, as per a recent report.

Widening Gap In Official and Real-World CO2 Output

Statistics reveals that PHEVs emit just one-fifth lower CO₂ than traditional petrol and diesel cars, based on research carried out by a advocacy group. This contrasts sharply with laboratory estimates, which suggested a three-quarters reduction in pollution.

Researchers studied information from onboard energy use monitors of eight hundred thousand cars registered in the EU between 2021 and 2023. The team found that actual CO₂ output from PHEVs in 2023 were 4.9 times higher than official figures, increased from 3.5 times in 2021.

“Actual emissions are rising, while lab-reported figures are decreasing,” said a lead analyst involved in the report. “That discrepancy is widening and poses a significant problem. As a result, PHEVs emit nearly as heavily as gasoline cars.”

Key Reasons Driving the Emissions Gap

Analysts attributed most of the difference to inflated estimates of the “utility factor” – the percentage of miles driven in electric power compared to total mileage. They determined that only 27% of driving was done in electric mode, whereas official assumptions suggested 84%.

Even, when operating in EV mode, pollution amounts were well above official projections. This occurred because electric motors were insufficiently powerful enough to function independently, leading to combustion motors burning fossil fuels for nearly a third of the travel completed in electric mode.

Policy and Economic Consequences

According to estimates, the lowballing of PHEV emissions allowed four large automaker companies to avoid over €5bn in fines between 2021 and 2023, by falsely easing adherence with European Union average fleet CO₂ targets.

Additionally, owners of PHEVs would spend about €500 extra annually in operating expenses than is estimated under lab conditions.

“The strong claims that automakers like to make about their PHEV vehicles are obviously far from the truth,” stated a automotive expert. “Consumers are being duped into thinking that by buying a PHEV, they are benefiting the planet and saving money. Actually, PHEVs are only slightly better than standard gas and diesel vehicles in terms of fuel use, CO₂ production, and running expenses.”

Political Debate and Industry Pressure

Hybrid cars have recently been brought back into policy debates as automakers have pressed the EU to relax CO₂ targets. A proposed ban on new combustion engine vehicles in 2035 has faced intense lobbying from the automotive industry and resistance from member states with large automotive manufacturing.

Several senior officials have proposed plug-in hybrids as a potential “compromise” option to introduce in the legislation.

An external energy economics expert, who was unaffiliated with the study, described the analysis a “highly valuable addition” after a long period in which parts of the automotive industry argued there was insufficient data to accurately assess real-world emissions.

“The results show, without question, that the gap between official and actual PHEV fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions is significantly greater than for petrol or conventional vehicles,” the expert stated. “Any policy adjustments regarding PHEVs should be implemented with extreme caution and in the light of this evidence.”