🔗 Share this article Plug-in Hybrid electric Vehicles Emit Nearly as Heavily as Gasoline Cars, Study Reveals Plug-in hybrid cars release nearly 5x greater planet-heating pollution than lab-reported data show, according to a recent report. Growing Gap In Official and Actual Emissions Statistics shows that PHEVs emit only one-fifth lower CO2 than traditional gas and diesel cars, according to analysis conducted by a advocacy organization. This differs significantly with lab estimates, which suggested a 75% decrease in emissions. Analysts studied information from in-vehicle energy use meters of 800,000 cars registered in the EU from 2021 and 2023. The team found that actual CO2 output from PHEVs in 2023 were nearly five times greater than official figures, up from three and a half times in 2021. “Real-world CO2 output are increasing, while lab-reported emissions are falling,” stated a senior analyst involved in the study. “That discrepancy is widening and poses a serious issue. As a result, PHEVs emit nearly as much as petrol vehicles.” Key Factors Driving the Emissions Gap Researchers linked most of the difference to inflated estimates of the “electric driving share” – the percentage of miles travelled in battery power compared to overall mileage. They found that only a quarter of travel was completed in EV mode, while official estimates assumed 84%. Additionally, when operating in EV mode, emission amounts were well above official projections. This occurred because EV motors were insufficiently powerful enough to operate independently, resulting to combustion motors burning fossil fuels for almost one-third of the distance covered in EV mode. Policy and Financial Consequences Based on estimates, the lowballing of PHEV CO2 output enabled four major carmaker groups to avoid more than €5bn in penalties between 2021 and 2023, by falsely simplifying adherence with EU fleet-average CO2 targets. Additionally, owners of PHEVs could spend approximately €500 more per year in operating costs than is estimated under laboratory tests. “The bold statements that automakers like to make about their PHEV cars are obviously far from the truth,” commented a automotive analyst. “Consumers are being duped into believing that by purchasing a PHEV, they are helping the environment and saving costs. Actually, PHEVs are little better than regular petrol and diesel cars in terms of fuel consumption, CO2 emissions, and running costs.” Policy Discussion and Industry Pressure Plug-in hybrid cars have recently been brought again into policy debates as carmakers have pressed the EU to weaken CO2 standards. A proposed ban on new combustion engine vehicles in 2035 has faced heavy lobbying from the car industry and resistance from member states with large car industries. Several senior politicians have suggested plug-in hybrids as a possible “flexibility” solution to include in the regulation. An external energy policy specialist, who was unaffiliated with the study, described the report a “very useful addition” after years in which parts of the car sector claimed there was insufficient information to properly assess real-world emissions. “The results demonstrate, beyond any doubt, that the gap in official and actual PHEV energy use and CO2 output is significantly larger than for gasoline or diesel vehicles,” the expert said. “Any policy adjustments regarding PHEVs should be made with extreme caution and in the light of that data.”