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PHEVs produce nearly 5x greater planet-heating pollution than official figures indicate, according to a new report.

Widening Gap Between Official and Real-World Emissions

Statistics shows that PHEVs emit only one-fifth less CO₂ than conventional petrol and diesel cars, according to analysis conducted by a advocacy group. This differs significantly with lab estimates, which suggested a 75% decrease in pollution.

Analysts studied information from in-vehicle fuel consumption meters of eight hundred thousand cars sold in the EU between 2021 and 2023. The team found that actual CO₂ output from PHEVs in 2023 were 4.9 times greater than official figures, increased from three and a half times in 2021.

“Actual emissions are increasing, while lab-reported emissions are falling,” said a lead researcher participating in the report. “This gap is growing and poses a significant problem. As a result, PHEVs pollute almost as heavily as gasoline vehicles.”

Key Factors Driving the Discrepancy

Analysts attributed the majority of the gap to overestimates of the “electric driving share” – the percentage of miles travelled in battery power compared to total distance. The team found that just a quarter of travel was done in EV mode, while official assumptions assumed 84%.

Additionally, when operating in EV mode, emission levels were significantly higher than official estimates. That occurred because electric motors were insufficiently powerful sufficient to operate alone, resulting to engines burning fossil fuels for almost a third of the distance completed in EV mode.

Regulatory and Economic Implications

Based on estimates, the lowballing of PHEV CO2 output enabled several major automaker companies to avoid more than €5bn in fines from 2021 and 2023, by falsely easing compliance with European Union average fleet CO₂ standards.

Additionally, drivers of PHEVs could spend approximately €500 more per year in running expenses than is assumed under lab conditions.

“The bold claims that manufacturers often promote about their plug-in hybrid cars are clearly far from the truth,” commented a transport expert. “Buyers are being duped into believing that by purchasing a PHEV, they are helping the planet and saving money. Actually, PHEVs are little better than standard gas and diesel vehicles in terms of fuel use, CO₂ production, and operating expenses.”

Policy Discussion and Automotive Lobbying

Plug-in hybrid vehicles have lately been brought again into policy discussions as automakers have pressed the EU to weaken CO₂ standards. A planned prohibition on new internal combustion cars in 2035 has faced intense lobbying from the automotive industry and opposition from member states with large automotive manufacturing.

Several senior officials have proposed plug-in hybrids as a possible “compromise” solution to introduce in the regulation.

An external energy economics specialist, who was not involved with the study, called the report a “very useful contribution” after a long period in which parts of the automotive sector claimed there was too little data to properly evaluate actual CO2 output.

“These findings demonstrate, beyond any doubt, that the difference between official and real-world PHEV fuel consumption and CO₂ output is significantly greater than for petrol or diesel vehicles,” they stated. “Any policy adjustments regarding PHEVs should be implemented with extreme care and considering this data.”