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PHEVs produce nearly 5x greater planet-heating emissions than official data indicate, as per a recent report.

Growing Discrepancy Between Official and Actual CO2 Output

Data shows that PHEVs emit just 19% lower CO₂ than conventional petrol and diesel vehicles, according to research conducted by a advocacy group. That contrasts significantly with lab tests, which suggested a 75% decrease in emissions.

Analysts studied data from onboard energy use meters of eight hundred thousand cars sold in the EU from 2021 and 2023. They found that real-world CO₂ output from PHEVs in 2023 were 4.9 times greater than official figures, increased from 3.5 times in 2021.

“Real-world emissions are rising, while official figures are falling,” stated a lead analyst participating in the study. “This discrepancy is growing and poses a significant issue. Consequently, PHEVs emit nearly as heavily as petrol cars.”

Key Reasons Driving the Discrepancy

Researchers attributed most of the gap to overestimates of the “utility factor” – the ratio of miles travelled in electric power compared to total mileage. The team found that just 27% of travel was done in electric mode, whereas official estimates assumed over four-fifths.

Even, when running in EV mode, pollution amounts were well above official projections. That happened because electric motors were insufficiently powerful enough to function alone, leading to combustion motors burning fossil fuels for nearly a third of the distance completed in EV mode.

Regulatory and Economic Implications

Based on estimates, the underestimation of PHEV CO2 output allowed several major carmaker groups to avoid more than €5bn in penalties between 2021 and 2023, by falsely easing adherence with European Union fleet-average CO₂ standards.

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

“The strong claims that manufacturers like to make about their plug-in hybrid vehicles are obviously way off the truth,” stated a automotive analyst. “Buyers are being duped into thinking that by buying a PHEV, they are benefiting the planet and saving costs. In reality, PHEVs are only slightly better than standard petrol and diesel vehicles in terms of energy use, CO₂ emissions, and running expenses.”

Policy Discussion and Automotive Lobbying

Hybrid vehicles have lately been drawn again into policy debates as carmakers have pressed the European Union to relax CO₂ standards. A proposed prohibition on sales of new internal combustion vehicles in 2035 has faced intense pressure from the automotive sector and resistance from EU countries with large car manufacturing.

Some high-level politicians have suggested plug-in hybrids as a potential “compromise” option to introduce in the regulation.

One independent energy policy specialist, who was not involved with the research, called the report a “highly valuable contribution” after years in which parts of the automotive industry claimed there was too little information to accurately assess actual CO2 output.

“These findings demonstrate, beyond any doubt, that the gap between official and real-world PHEV fuel consumption and CO₂ output is significantly larger than for gasoline or diesel cars,” they said. “All policy adjustments concerning PHEVs should be made with extreme caution and in the light of that evidence.”