As we shared earlier this fall, new studies have revealed alarming differences in the total emissions of PHEVs. In reality, these vehicles are emitting almost 5x more carbon dioxide than what’s reported. The other watchdog, Brussels-based Transport and Environment, a non-profit sustainable transport advocacy group, unveiled even more shocking discoveries. They reveal a deeply troubling trend. Contrary to laboratory tested emissions showing improvements, real world emissions continue to increase.
A new study looked at data from onboard fuel consumption meters of 800,000 registered vehicles throughout Europe from 2021—2023. Of particular importance is the lack of consumer awareness that PHEVs are not the greener alternative they intend to purchase. European carmakers market their cars as a long-range panacea that emit less than petrol or diesel cars in total. The reality is much different.
Ambient air pollution drivers on average drive for about €500 a year more in running costs than lab tests indicate. A big part of the problem is that the “utility factor” is grossly overestimated. This subfactor represents the percentage of electric miles driven versus total miles driven. According to official estimates, drivers of PHEVs are in electric mode 84% of the time. What the report actually shows is that electric usage in reality is barely 27%.
Sofía Navas Gohlke from Transport and Environment noted, “Real-world emissions are going up, while official emissions are going down.” She emphasized the widening gap between reported and actual emissions, stating, “This is the gap that is getting worse and it is a real problem. As a result, PHEVs pollute almost as much as petrol cars.”
As far as we can tell, the report estimated, under lab conditions, PHEVS to be 75% cleaner than conventional vehicles. One look at real-world data from 2023, and we’d find the opposite entirely. Carbon dioxide emissions from PHEVs were, on average, 4.9 times higher than these tests showed using standardized laboratory tests. This is a dramatic contrast to the findings of 2021, when IRENA discovered that real-world emissions were 3.5 times higher than anticipated.
A deeper analysis reveals that PHEVs emit just 19% less CO2 than standard petrol and diesel cars. This begs the question of whether they are actually helping to reduce overall vehicle emissions. Unfortunately, the study illustrates a serious shortcoming with PHEVs. Their electric motors are not robust enough to operate at all times on their own, producing fossil fuel use for almost one-third of the distance driven even in electric mode.
Colin Walker, an expert involved in the study, commented on the misleading nature of manufacturers’ claims: “The bold claims that manufacturers like to make about their plug-in hybrid vehicles are clearly way off the mark.” He further illustrated the fallout from this overreach for consumers. Most importantly, they are deceiving consumers into thinking that purchasing PHEVs is the environmentally friendly option.
These results reveal that four of the top five European carmaker groups have escaped more than €5 billion (£4.3 billion) in fines between 2021 and 2023. They did this by artificially lowballing PHEV emissions. As such, car manufacturers have an artificially easier time complying with the EU’s fleet-average CO2 targets owing to this underestimation. This state of affairs creates an embarrassing optics problem for regulatory credibility and tarnishes consumer confidence.