Plug in Hybrid electric Cars Emit Nearly as Heavily as Gasoline Vehicles, Report Reveals

Plug-in hybrid cars produce nearly five times greater global warming pollution than official figures show, as per a new analysis.

Growing Discrepancy Between Official and Real-World Emissions

Statistics shows that PHEVs release just 19% lower CO₂ than conventional gas and diesel vehicles, based on research conducted by a advocacy group. That contrasts sharply with lab estimates, which assumed a three-quarters decrease in pollution.

Analysts studied data from onboard fuel consumption meters of eight hundred thousand vehicles registered in the EU from 2021 and 2023. They found that real-world CO₂ emissions from PHEVs in 2023 were 4.9 times higher than official estimates, up from 3.5 times in 2021.

“Real-world CO2 output are rising, while official figures are falling,” said a senior analyst participating in the study. “That discrepancy is growing and creates a serious issue. As a result, PHEVs emit nearly as heavily as petrol vehicles.”

Primary Factors Driving the Discrepancy

Analysts attributed the majority of the gap to inflated estimates of the “utility factor” – the percentage of miles driven in electric power compared to total mileage. They determined that just a quarter of driving was done in EV mode, while lab assumptions suggested over four-fifths.

Additionally, when operating in EV mode, pollution levels were well above official projections. This occurred because EV motors were not strong sufficient to function independently, resulting to combustion motors using fossil fuels for nearly one-third of the distance completed in EV mode.

Policy and Economic Implications

According to calculations, the underestimation of PHEV emissions allowed four major automaker companies to escape more than €5bn in penalties between 2021 and 2023, by artificially easing compliance with EU fleet-average CO₂ standards.

Furthermore, owners of PHEVs could pay about €500 extra per year in operating costs than would be estimated under laboratory tests.

“The strong statements that automakers like to make about their plug-in hybrid cars are clearly far from the mark,” commented a automotive expert. “Buyers are being duped into believing that by purchasing a PHEV, they are helping the environment and cutting money. Actually, PHEVs are only slightly better than standard gas and diesel vehicles in terms of fuel consumption, CO₂ emissions, and operating costs.”

Political Discussion and Industry Lobbying

Plug-in hybrid cars have recently been brought again into policy debates as automakers have pressed the European Union to relax CO₂ targets. A proposed ban on sales of new internal combustion cars in 2035 has faced intense lobbying from the car industry and opposition from EU countries with significant automotive manufacturing.

Some high-level officials have proposed PHEVs as a possible “compromise” solution to include in the regulation.

An external energy economics specialist, who was not involved with the research, described the report a “highly valuable addition” after years in which parts of the car sector argued there was too little data to accurately assess actual CO2 output.

“The results demonstrate, without question, that the difference between lab and actual PHEV energy use and CO₂ emissions is much, much greater than for gasoline or diesel vehicles,” they stated. “All policy adjustments concerning PHEVs should be implemented with extreme care and in the light of that data.”