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PHEVs release nearly 5x greater global warming emissions than official figures indicate, as per a new report.

Widening Discrepancy In Official and Actual Emissions

Statistics shows that PHEVs release only 19% less CO₂ than traditional petrol and diesel cars, according to research carried out by a advocacy organization. This contrasts sharply with lab estimates, which suggested a 75% reduction in pollution.

Analysts studied data from in-vehicle fuel consumption meters of 800,000 cars registered in the EU from 2021 and 2023. The team discovered that real-world CO₂ output from PHEVs in 2023 were 4.9 times higher than lab estimates, up from three and a half times in 2021.

“Real-world emissions are rising, while lab-reported figures are falling,” said a lead researcher involved in the study. “That gap is growing and poses a significant problem. As a result, PHEVs emit nearly as heavily as gasoline vehicles.”

Primary Reasons Behind the Emissions Gap

Researchers attributed the majority of the difference to overestimates of the “utility factor” – the percentage of kilometers travelled in battery mode relative to total mileage. They found that only a quarter of travel was completed in EV mode, while official estimates suggested over four-fifths.

Even, when running in EV mode, emission levels were significantly higher than lab projections. That occurred because EV motors were insufficiently powerful enough to function independently, resulting to combustion motors using gasoline for nearly a third of the travel covered in electric mode.

Policy and Economic Implications

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

Additionally, owners of PHEVs could pay approximately €500 extra annually in running costs than is assumed under laboratory tests.

“The strong claims that automakers like to make about their plug-in hybrid vehicles are obviously far from the mark,” stated a automotive expert. “Buyers are being duped into believing that by purchasing a PHEV, they are benefiting the environment and cutting costs. Actually, PHEVs are little better than standard gas and diesel cars in terms of fuel consumption, CO₂ production, and operating costs.”

Policy Debate and Industry Lobbying

Hybrid cars have lately been drawn back into policy discussions as carmakers have lobbied the EU to relax CO₂ standards. A proposed ban on sales of new combustion engine cars in 2035 has faced intense pressure from the automotive industry and resistance from EU countries with significant car industries.

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

One external energy economics specialist, who was unaffiliated with the study, described the analysis a “highly valuable addition” after a long period in which segments of the automotive industry argued there was too little data to properly assess actual emissions.

“These findings demonstrate, without question, that the gap in lab and real-world PHEV energy use and CO₂ emissions is significantly greater than for petrol or diesel cars,” the expert stated. “All regulatory adjustments concerning PHEVs should be made with utmost caution and considering that evidence.”