New and popular plug-in hybrids emit more CO2 than car manufacturers claim, according to a field test commissioned by the European Transport & Environment (T&E). According to T&E, the current advantages associated with plug-in hybrids must therefore be overhauled.
The test was conducted by Emissions Analytics, an independent scientific research agency that carries out emissions measurements. The three most popular plug-ins from 2019 were included in the test: the BMW X5 45e, the Volvo XC60 T8 and the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. The cars were tested in three different ways: with a full battery, with an empty battery and in the mode in which the combustion engine charges the battery. What seems? On a fully charged battery and in optimal conditions, the models emit 28 to 89 percent more CO2 than the car manufacturers indicate. The best percentage score is for the X5, the worst for the Outlander.
On an empty battery they emit three to eight times as much as the official values. When the car charges the battery while driving, the cars emit three to twelve times as much. In both cases, the difference is the largest with the X5, when charging the battery, emissions are no less than 384 grams of CO2 per kilometer. Due to this large difference in CO2 emissions, according to T&E, it is not justified that plug-in hybrids are given tax advantages. There is another advantage for car manufacturers, namely that models with CO2 emissions of less than 50 grams per kilometer generate so-called ‘super credits’. This is an extra compensation to reduce the average CO2 emissions of the vehicle fleet, something that is important for achieving the average emissions standard of 95 grams per kilometer.
Due to the large difference between the stated emissions and the emissions under different practical conditions, T&E advocates the abolition of the current advantages surrounding plug-in hybrids. The agency even believes that they are ‘the new emissions scandal’, following Dieselgate. According to T&E, BMW and Volvo, which are now on track to achieve their CO2 standard, would not have achieved this if the actual emissions of the plug-in hybrids had been included in the measurement. That does not mean that plug-in hybrids do not add anything to the transition to emission-free mobility in the view of T&E. The body advocates, among other things, that manufacturers improve the minimum electric range of plug-ins in practice to 80 kilometers and add the option of fast charging, so that drivers can drive electrically under more conditions and more easily.
Plug-in hybrids in the Netherlands
“Drivers are often blamed for the high emissions of plug-in hybrids, because they do not charge their cars,” says Rob van Tilburg of Natuur & Milieu. In particular, he confirms the conclusion of T&E. “But that’s only part of the story. Most cars are not well made. They have weak electric motors, big polluting gasoline or diesel engines and often cannot fast charge. Unless you drive very safely, the actual emissions skyrocket. And yet the government chooses to stimulate production. “
The Dutch government subsidizes plug-in hybrids by giving a discount on the purchase tax (BPM). Plug-in hybrids also receive a 50 percent discount on the motor vehicle tax (MRB). “This form of stimulation can be spent much better and more effectively on fully electric cars. For example by making more subsidies available to private individuals who want to purchase a smaller electric car,” says Van Tilburg.