<
https://thedriven.io/2025/10/21/one-of-biggest-cons-plug-in-hybrids-pollute-almost-as-much-as-petrol-cars-report-finds/>
"New research has shown that plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) emit just
19 per cent less CO₂ per kilometre on average than petrol and diesel cars in
Europe, significantly undermining the claims of carmakers.
According to a new report published by Transport & Environment (T&E), a leading
European clean transport and energy advocacy group, PHEVs were shown to emit
roughly the same level of emissions as conventional hybrids and combustion
vehicles.
This flies in the face of claims that PHEVs boast emissions as much as 75 per
cent lower than conventional cars, as well as efforts by the automotive
industry to weaken zero emission regulations by prolonging the sale of PHEVs
beyond 2035 and versing the correction of official PHEV emissions.
The new report,
Smoke screen: the growing PHEV emissions scandal, presents
findings from an in-depth analysis of market and emission data for PHEVs across
Europe.
The report focuses on both PHEVs as well as extended-range electric vehicles
(EREVs), a specific PHEV variant that is becoming increasingly popular in China
which uses a combustion engine to generate power for the battery.
“Plug-in hybrids are one of the biggest cons in automotive history,” said
Lucien Mathieu, cars director at T&E.
“They emit almost as much as petrol cars. Even in electric mode they pollute
eight times as much as official tests claim. Technology neutrality cannot mean
ignoring the reality that, even after a decade, PHEVs have never delivered.”
Some of the findings published in the report have already been highlighted by
T&E, including the fact that the real-world emissions of European PHEVs are 135
grams of CO₂ per kilometre (gCO₂/km) on average – five times higher than
official tests suggest.
For comparison, petrol and diesel cars emit 166gCO₂/km."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
