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Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles release nearly five times more planet-heating pollution than official figures indicate, as per a new analysis.

Widening Gap In Official and Actual CO2 Output

Statistics reveals that PHEVs release just 19% lower CO₂ than traditional gas and diesel cars, according to analysis conducted by a advocacy organization. That differs significantly with lab estimates, which suggested a 75% decrease in pollution.

Analysts studied information from onboard energy use meters of eight hundred thousand vehicles sold in Europe from 2021 and 2023. They found that real-world CO₂ output from PHEVs in 2023 were 4.9 times greater than lab estimates, up from 3.5 times in 2021.

“Real-world CO2 output are increasing, while lab-reported emissions are decreasing,” stated a senior analyst participating in the report. “This gap is growing and creates a serious issue. As a result, PHEVs emit almost as much as petrol vehicles.”

Key Factors Driving the Emissions Gap

Analysts linked the majority of the difference to overestimates of the “electric driving share” – the percentage of miles travelled in electric mode compared to total distance. The team determined that just a quarter of travel was completed in EV mode, while official estimates suggested 84%.

Additionally, when running in electric mode, pollution amounts were well above official estimates. This happened because electric motors were not strong enough to function independently, leading to combustion motors using fossil fuels for almost a third of the distance completed in EV mode.

Policy and Economic Implications

Based on calculations, the lowballing of PHEV CO2 output enabled four major carmaker companies to avoid over €5bn in fines between 2021 and 2023, by falsely simplifying compliance with European Union average fleet CO₂ targets.

Furthermore, drivers of PHEVs could spend approximately €500 more per year in operating expenses than is estimated under laboratory conditions.

“The bold claims that manufacturers like to make about their plug-in hybrid cars are clearly way off the truth,” commented a transport expert. “Consumers are being misled into believing that by buying a PHEV, they are benefiting the environment and cutting money. In reality, PHEVs are only slightly better than standard gas and diesel cars in terms of energy consumption, CO₂ production, and operating expenses.”

Policy Debate and Industry Pressure

Hybrid vehicles have lately been drawn back into policy discussions as carmakers have pressed the EU to weaken CO₂ targets. A proposed prohibition on new combustion engine vehicles in 2035 has faced intense lobbying from the automotive industry and opposition from EU countries with significant car manufacturing.

Some senior politicians have proposed plug-in hybrids as a potential “flexibility” solution to include in the legislation.

An independent energy policy specialist, who was unaffiliated with the research, described the report a “highly valuable contribution” after a long period in which segments of the car industry claimed there was insufficient information to properly evaluate actual emissions.

“The results demonstrate, beyond any doubt, that the difference in official and actual PHEV energy use and CO₂ emissions is significantly greater than for petrol or conventional vehicles,” they said. “All regulatory adjustments concerning PHEVs should be implemented with extreme caution and in the light of this evidence.”