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PHEVs produce almost 5x more global warming pollution than official data show, according to a new report.

Growing Discrepancy In Official and Real-World CO2 Output

Statistics shows that PHEVs release only 19% lower CO₂ than traditional gas and diesel vehicles, according to research carried out by a advocacy organization. This contrasts significantly with lab tests, which assumed a three-quarters decrease in pollution.

Researchers studied data from onboard fuel consumption monitors of eight hundred thousand cars sold in the EU between 2021 and 2023. The team found that real-world CO₂ emissions from PHEVs in 2023 were nearly five times greater than lab figures, increased from 3.5 times in 2021.

“Actual emissions are rising, while lab-reported emissions are decreasing,” stated a senior researcher involved in the study. “This discrepancy is widening and poses a significant issue. As a result, PHEVs emit almost as heavily as petrol vehicles.”

Primary Factors Driving the Emissions Gap

Researchers attributed the majority of the gap to inflated estimates of the “utility factor” – the ratio of kilometers travelled in electric mode compared to overall mileage. They determined that only a quarter of travel was completed in electric mode, while lab assumptions suggested over four-fifths.

Even, when running in EV mode, pollution amounts were significantly higher than official projections. That happened because electric motors were insufficiently powerful enough to function independently, leading to engines using fossil fuels for almost one-third of the distance covered in EV mode.

Regulatory and Economic Consequences

Based on calculations, the lowballing of PHEV CO2 output allowed several major automaker companies to avoid over €5bn in penalties from 2021 and 2023, by falsely simplifying adherence with European Union fleet-average CO₂ standards.

Additionally, drivers of PHEVs would pay about €500 extra per year in running costs than would be estimated under lab conditions.

“The bold statements that automakers like to make about their plug-in hybrid vehicles are obviously far from the mark,” stated a transport analyst. “Consumers are being duped into believing that by purchasing a PHEV, they are helping the planet and saving money. Actually, PHEVs are only slightly better than standard gas and diesel cars in terms of energy consumption, CO₂ emissions, and running costs.”

Political Debate and Automotive Lobbying

Hybrid cars have lately been brought again into policy debates as carmakers have lobbied the European Union to relax CO₂ standards. A planned ban on new internal combustion cars in 2035 has faced heavy pressure from the car industry and opposition from member states with significant automotive manufacturing.

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

An independent energy policy expert, who was not involved with the study, called the analysis a “highly valuable addition” after a long period in which segments of the automotive industry argued there was insufficient information to properly assess actual CO2 output.

“The results show, beyond any doubt, that the gap in official and real-world PHEV energy use and CO₂ emissions is significantly greater than for petrol or conventional vehicles,” the expert stated. “All regulatory changes concerning PHEVs should be made with extreme caution and in the light of this evidence.”