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PHEVs produce nearly five times greater planet-heating pollution than official figures show, as per a recent report.

Growing Gap In Official and Actual CO2 Output

Statistics reveals that PHEVs emit just one-fifth less CO₂ than traditional gas and diesel vehicles, according to research carried out by a non-profit group. That contrasts sharply with lab estimates, which assumed a three-quarters decrease in pollution.

Researchers examined data from in-vehicle energy use meters of eight hundred thousand vehicles registered in Europe from 2021 and 2023. The team discovered that real-world CO₂ output from PHEVs in 2023 were nearly five times higher than official estimates, up from 3.5 times in 2021.

“Real-world emissions are increasing, while official figures are decreasing,” stated a senior researcher involved in the study. “That discrepancy is widening and poses a serious problem. As a result, PHEVs pollute nearly as much as petrol cars.”

Key Reasons Driving the Emissions Gap

Researchers attributed most of the gap to inflated estimates of the “electric driving share” – the percentage of kilometers travelled in battery power relative to total distance. They determined that only a quarter of driving was completed in EV mode, while official estimates suggested 84%.

Even, when operating in EV mode, pollution amounts were significantly higher than lab projections. This happened because electric motors were insufficiently powerful enough to operate alone, resulting to combustion motors burning gasoline for nearly a third of the travel covered in electric mode.

Policy and Financial Implications

According to estimates, the underestimation of PHEV CO2 output enabled four large carmaker companies to escape more than €5bn in fines from 2021 and 2023, by falsely easing adherence with EU average fleet CO₂ standards.

Furthermore, drivers of PHEVs could pay approximately €500 extra per year in running costs than would be assumed under laboratory conditions.

“The bold claims that automakers like to make about their plug-in hybrid vehicles are obviously way off the mark,” commented a automotive analyst. “Buyers are being misled into thinking that by buying a PHEV, they are benefiting the planet and saving costs. Actually, PHEVs are only slightly improved than regular petrol and diesel vehicles in terms of fuel consumption, CO₂ emissions, and running costs.”

Political Debate and Industry Pressure

Plug-in hybrid vehicles have recently been drawn back into political discussions as automakers have lobbied the European Union to weaken CO₂ targets. A proposed prohibition on sales of new combustion engine cars in 2035 has faced intense lobbying from the car industry and resistance from EU countries with large automotive industries.

Several senior politicians have suggested plug-in hybrids as a potential “compromise” solution to introduce in the regulation.

One external energy policy expert, who was unaffiliated with the research, called the analysis a “very useful contribution” after a long period in which segments of the automotive industry claimed there was too little information to accurately assess actual CO2 output.

“These findings show, beyond any doubt, that the difference in lab and actual PHEV energy use and CO₂ output is significantly greater than for petrol or diesel cars,” they stated. “All regulatory changes regarding PHEVs should be implemented with extreme care and considering that evidence.”