Hybrid cars failed their tests -

Maureen McLean / Shutterstock / SIPA

The CO2 emissions of plug-in hybrid vehicles remain higher than what the manufacturers officially announce, assures this Monday the NGO Transport & Environment (T & E) which analyzed the behavior of three of the best-selling models in 2020.

"Our tests show that, even in optimal conditions, with a full battery, the cars pollute more than announced", explains Diane Strauss, France director of T&E. "The French government must abolish aid as quickly as possible. 'purchase of hybrid vehicles and tax incentives for company vehicles'.

A new scandal to come?

The majority of these vehicles, equipped with a heat engine and a rechargeable battery on the sector allowing to drive in 100% electric mode for a small distance, “is just badly designed.

They have weak electric motors, bulky and polluting heat engines, and generally charge slowly.

French manufacturers must avoid rushing into this next scandal of “CO2 emissions”, she adds while sales of these vehicles now exceed those of electric vehicles in France, according to the NGO.

The tests, carried out by Emissions Analytics on the large urban 4x4 BMW X5, the Volvo XC60 and the Mitsubishi Outlander, reveal that the CO2 emissions are between 28% and 89% higher than those that the manufacturers have announced under optimal conditions of operation and with the battery fully charged.

Water in gas

"With an empty battery, they emitted three to eight times more CO2 than the official values ​​and when driving in battery charging mode (…) the figures were then three to twelve times higher", according to the study.

Until 2019, studies by the NGO International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) concluded that the CO2 emissions in real conditions of plug-in hybrids were already generally two to four times higher than the measurements communicated during their process. approval, recalls T&E.

40,000 hybrids sold in 2020

In September 2020, the government had already disbursed 38 million euros in aid for the purchase of plug-in hybrid vehicles (excluding conversion premium) and it spends an additional 7 million euros annually to encourage users of company vehicles to choose the rechargeable hybrid, still regrets the NGO.

By mid-October, more than 40,284 plug-in hybrids had been sold in France since the start of the year, thus reflecting an explosion in sales of 239%.

These vehicles, often among the heaviest, are also excluded from the new weight penalty system which will apply to those weighing more than 1,800 kg.

Automotive

Bosch study: For 1 in 3 people, hydrogen is the future of mobility

Bordeaux

Bordeaux: "I am not anti-car, I am anti-traffic jam and anti-pollution" launches the vice-president for mobility of the metropolis

  • CO2

  • Car

  • Hybrid cars

  • Planet

  • Society