Plug-in hybrid cars emit far more carbon dioxide in real driving than official tests indicate, new EU data reveals, intensifying pressure on carmakers to accelerate the shift to full electric models.
According to figures analysed by campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E), the average plug-in hybrid (PHEV) registered in 2023 emitted 139g of CO₂ per kilometre – almost five times the 28g/km recorded in official tests. The data, drawn from fuel monitors on 127,000 vehicles, “differs hugely from the tests where vehicles are driven in a way that is considered to be normal,” T&E said.
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Closing the growing PHEV loophole (T&E analysis)
PHEVs, which switch between an electric motor and a petrol or diesel engine, make up 8.6% of EU car sales this year. Carmakers have lobbied Brussels to ease upcoming adjustments to the so-called “utility factors” that correct official CO₂ ratings, warning that stricter rules would force them to sell fewer hybrids or boost battery-electric sales to meet targets.
Earlier this month the European carmakers’ association urged the EU to cancel efforts to better reflect hybrid emissions in the bloc’s climate-target calculations.
“Plug-in hybrids are still worse for the climate than carmakers claim and the gap with reality has only gotten worse,” said Lucien Mathieu, cars director at T&E. He added that the industry was “demanding that the EU turn a blind eye so it can delay investing in fully electric cars,” calling on the Commission to “stand its ground” on the 2025 and 2027 utility factors.
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