Car makers and their suppliers have defended plug-in hybrid technology after data extracted from cars on the road by the European authorities showed that models on average were emitting more than three times the carbon dioxide shown in official tests.
Sales of plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) grew 34% in the first three months in the UK to 42,492 as more company car drivers took advantage of their tax-friendliness. That in turn helps car makers to drive down their average CO2 emissions to meet legislation and softens their 22% electric car target this year. In Europe, sales were up 7.4%, with the UK now only fractionally behind Germany for the title of the biggest PHEV market in the region.
However, figures collected by the European Commission as part of a wider study into the effectiveness of the WLTP fuel economy test show that plug-in hybrids might not deserve their low-CO2 status, along with the perks that go with that.
Under new rules that allow European authorities to download data from cars in use, the European Commission found that among the 191,197 PHEVs interrogated, the average fuel economy was just 47.5mpg against the 167mpg claimed through the WLTP test.
The commission concluded that the “large discrepancy” between figures achieved by PHEVs in the lab test versus the real world “shows that they are charged and driven in electric mode much less than how they were expected to be used”. The – perhaps predictable – assessment was that “assumptions used for calculating the WLTP test result do not hold in real-world conditions”.
Don’t blame the car makers, argued Mike Hawes, CEO of UK automotive body the SMMT. “By law, manufacturers are required to test all vehicles of all technologies to the same, repeatable standard – the WLTP Test. There will, however, always be a difference between lab tests and real-world use,” he told Autocar.
The advantages go beyond their emission reduction qualities as consumers make the sometimes difficult switch to EVs. “Plug-in hybrids are a crucial stepping stone technology, giving consumers the experience of charging and peace of mind if they experience difficulties,” Hawes said.
Don’t blame the car makers, argued Mike Hawes, CEO of UK automotive body the SMMT. “By law, manufacturers are required to test all vehicles of all technologies to the same, repeatable standard – the WLTP Test. There will, however, always be a difference between lab tests and real-world use,” he told Autocar.
The advantages go beyond their emission reduction qualities as consumers make the sometimes difficult switch to EVs. “Plug-in hybrids are a crucial stepping stone technology, giving consumers the experience of charging and peace of mind if they experience difficulties,” Hawes said.
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