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Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles produce nearly five times greater global warming emissions than official data indicate, according to a new report.

Widening Gap In Official and Real-World Emissions

Statistics shows that PHEVs release just one-fifth lower CO₂ than conventional petrol and diesel vehicles, based on research carried out by a advocacy group. This differs sharply with laboratory tests, which assumed a 75% decrease in pollution.

Analysts examined information from onboard fuel consumption meters of eight hundred thousand vehicles sold in Europe from 2021 and 2023. The team discovered 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.

“Actual emissions are increasing, while lab-reported emissions are decreasing,” said a lead analyst participating in the study. “That gap is widening and creates a serious problem. As a result, PHEVs pollute almost as heavily as petrol cars.”

Key Factors Behind the Discrepancy

Researchers attributed the majority of the gap to inflated estimates of the “electric driving share” – the percentage of kilometers travelled in electric power relative to overall mileage. They found that just 27% of driving was completed in electric mode, while lab estimates assumed 84%.

Even, when operating in EV mode, emission amounts were well above official projections. That happened because EV motors were insufficiently powerful sufficient to function independently, resulting to combustion motors using fossil fuels for almost one-third of the travel covered in electric mode.

Policy and Financial Implications

Based on calculations, the lowballing of PHEV CO2 output enabled four large carmaker companies to escape over €5bn in penalties from 2021 and 2023, by artificially easing compliance with European Union average fleet CO₂ standards.

Furthermore, drivers of PHEVs would pay approximately €500 extra annually in running expenses than would be estimated under lab conditions.

“The bold claims that automakers like to make about their PHEV vehicles are clearly far from the mark,” commented a automotive expert. “Consumers are being misled into thinking that by buying a PHEV, they are helping the environment and cutting costs. In reality, PHEVs are only slightly improved than regular gas and diesel vehicles in terms of energy consumption, CO₂ production, and running expenses.”

Political Discussion and Industry Lobbying

Plug-in hybrid vehicles have recently been drawn back into policy discussions as carmakers have pressed the European Union to relax CO₂ targets. A planned ban on new combustion engine vehicles in 2035 has faced heavy lobbying from the car sector and opposition from EU countries with significant automotive industries.

Some senior politicians have proposed PHEVs as a possible “flexibility” option to include in the regulation.

One independent energy economics expert, who was not involved with the research, described the analysis a “very useful contribution” after years in which segments of the automotive sector argued there was too little information to accurately evaluate actual CO2 output.

“These findings demonstrate, without question, that the gap in lab and real-world PHEV energy use and CO₂ output is significantly greater than for gasoline or diesel cars,” they stated. “Any regulatory adjustments regarding PHEVs should be implemented with extreme care and considering this evidence.”