Are plug-in hybrid vehicles really environmentally friendly? According to the study carried out by the NGO Transport & Environment, the manufacturers do not respect the data announced in terms of CO2 emitted!
You might think that plug-in hybrid cars are environmentally friendly. And yet! According to the NGO Transport & Environment, these vehicles emit more CO2 than manufacturers claim. But what does this study tell us?
The figures of the manufacturers would not be honest
France wants to install 100,000 electric charging stations by the summer of 2023. But according to the NGO Transport & Environment, public authorities should not above all not to highlight plug-in hybrid cars. Models that want to be versatile by having a classic thermal block and an electric motor.
As explains the NGO, it is this hybrid aspect that makes plug-in hybrid cars much less environmentally friendly than manufacturers claim. Transport & Environnement explains that most models are never recharged. The electric motor is therefore abandoned in favor of a conventional thermal block. Because to use the electric motor, the battery must be charged.
The NGO therefore compared three plug-in hybrid cars. A Peugeot 308, a BMW 3 Series and a Renault Mégane. The first two, discharged batteries, reject approximately 200 grams of CO2 per kilometer. The third is at 138 which is not much better.
Where manufacturers are not honest according to Transport & Environment is that they announce respectively 27, 36 and 30 grams of CO2 per kilometre. The data recorded by the OGN are therefore very far from reality!
The OGN offers various solutions to the problem
Faced with these results, we necessarily think that it is enough to recharge the battery. However, with this solution, the autonomy promised is not on the agenda. Good student, the Mégane slightly exceeds the 48% announced while the 308 is at 41.2% (56% announced) and the Peugeot at 33.6% (66% announced).
Faced with this (summary) conclusion of the survey, Transport & Environnement has several recommendations:
- End to bonuses set up by governments. In France, the end has stopped its aid for plug-in hybrid cars.
- End battery charging with the heat engine.
- Inform customers as well as possible so that they can drive in electric mode while enjoying benefits.
- The implementation of a malus based on real CO2 emissions since those announced are not true according to the NGO.
Whether builders will take notice remains to be seen. of these tips issued by the organization.
