EDIT clarifications:

  • the article is from the European Commission. This thing comes from a serious study based on hard facts and data.
  • Check this comment by @wooster@startrek.website, who reported the data.
  • Note that plugin hybrids are still better than pure ice, but they were expected to be much better.

It’s not a typo: plug-in hybrids are used, in real word cases, with ICE much more than anticipated.

In the EU, fuel consumption monitoring devices are required on new cars. They studied over 10% of all cars sold in 2021 and turns out they use way more fuel, and generate way more CO2, than anybody thought.

The gap means that CO2 emissions reduction objectives from transport will be more difficult to reach.

Thruth is, we need less cars, not “better” cars.

  • Showroom7561@lemmy.ca
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    8 months ago

    how is that even possible?

    Several reasons I can think of.

    • the lab tests are highly flawed.
    • the marketing is downright misleading.
    • people aren’t charging them.
    • people are using them in ways that don’t take advantage of the battery.

    Hybrids are really only “green” when you use them for very short trips at low speed. In that context, any other form of transportation will be better, in my opinion.

    • ByGourou@sh.itjust.works
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      8 months ago

      Yes, I think EVs in general (and especially hybrids) are a way to justify not investing in alternative modes of transportation for cities.

      As for users you feel good about being “clean”, but in reality you are still polluting 10x as much as with public transportation.

    • Bytemeister@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      PHEVs should be able to charge off of regenerative braking. You don’t need to plug them in to get benefits from the hybrid system. The stated fuel economy for the vehicles assumes that there will be a certain amount of electric-only travel. The article doesn’t say it, but most PHEVs advertise that you can use the battery for most of your day to day travel, and only use the ICE when you are making longer trips. So the takeaway from this article shoud not be “hybrids are bad, just keep making gas cars” but instead should be “testing and assumptions about the fuel use of these vehicles needs to be changed to more accurately reflect reality.”

      • hobovision@lemm.ee
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        8 months ago

        Plug in hybrids usually do worse in mpg when in hybrid mode compared to standard hybrids, so if someone buys a plug in but doesn’t charge it, it’s actually worse than buying a standard hybrid. Regen braking is awesome but it won’t charge a plug in’s battery. The energy you get from braking 45-0mph would likely only get you back up to 15 to 30mph due to all the efficiency losses, plus you still need more energy to maintain speed.

        • Bytemeister@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          As long as the system offsets it’s additional mass, it is a net benefit to the total economy of the car. Consider that an equally sized ICE vehicle loses 100% of that braking energy, and still has to accelerate that same 15-30 mph. You’re also leaving out that electric motors are much more efficient at accelerating a vehicle at low speeds than an ICE.

          • hobovision@lemm.ee
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            8 months ago

            I’m just comparing a plug in that never gets charged to a standard hybrid. If you aren’t going to charge it regularly, you’re better off with a non-plug-in. Both are better than a non-hybrid, but if only the last 5% of battery capacity is being used that all the resources that go into the other 95% of the battery are wasted.