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PHEVs emit almost 5x greater global warming emissions than official figures show, as per a recent report.

Widening Discrepancy In Official and Actual CO2 Output

Data reveals that PHEVs emit only one-fifth less CO₂ than conventional gas and diesel vehicles, based on analysis carried out by a non-profit organization. That contrasts significantly with laboratory estimates, which assumed a 75% decrease in pollution.

Researchers studied data from in-vehicle energy use meters of eight hundred thousand vehicles registered in Europe between 2021 and 2023. They found that real-world CO₂ emissions from PHEVs in 2023 were nearly five times greater than lab estimates, up from 3.5 times in 2021.

“Actual emissions are increasing, while lab-reported emissions are decreasing,” stated a senior analyst involved in the report. “That discrepancy is widening and creates a significant problem. As a result, PHEVs pollute almost as heavily as gasoline vehicles.”

Primary Factors Driving the Emissions Gap

Analysts linked most of the gap to inflated estimates of the “utility factor” – the ratio of kilometers travelled in electric power relative to overall mileage. They determined that only 27% of driving was completed in EV mode, while lab estimates assumed over four-fifths.

Additionally, when operating in EV mode, pollution levels were well above lab estimates. This occurred because electric motors were insufficiently powerful enough to function independently, leading to combustion motors burning gasoline for almost a third of the distance covered in electric mode.

Regulatory and Economic Consequences

According to estimates, the underestimation of PHEV emissions allowed four major carmaker companies to avoid more than €5bn in penalties from 2021 and 2023, by artificially simplifying adherence with EU average fleet CO₂ standards.

Additionally, drivers of PHEVs could pay approximately €500 extra per year in running costs than is estimated under lab conditions.

“The bold claims that automakers often promote about their plug-in hybrid cars are clearly way off the mark,” commented a transport analyst. “Buyers are being duped into believing that by buying a PHEV, they are benefiting the planet and cutting money. Actually, PHEVs are little improved than standard gas and diesel vehicles in terms of energy consumption, CO₂ emissions, and operating costs.”

Policy Discussion and Industry Lobbying

Plug-in hybrid vehicles have lately been drawn again into political discussions as automakers have lobbied the European Union to relax CO₂ standards. A planned prohibition on new internal combustion vehicles in 2035 has faced heavy lobbying from the automotive industry and resistance from member states with large car manufacturing.

Some high-level officials have suggested PHEVs as a possible “flexibility” solution to introduce in the legislation.

One independent energy policy specialist, who was not involved with the research, described the analysis a “highly valuable contribution” after years in which parts of the car industry argued there was too little data to accurately evaluate actual CO2 output.

“These findings show, beyond any doubt, that the difference between official and actual PHEV energy use and CO₂ output is much, much greater than for gasoline or conventional cars,” the expert stated. “All policy changes concerning PHEVs should be made with extreme caution and in the light of this evidence.”