How high is the consumption of plug-in hybrids?
The study comes to some sobering results
Created: 06/30/2022, 10:19 am
In addition to the electric motor, plug-in hybrids always have a conventional combustion engine on board.
(Iconic image) © Seat/SP-X
The environmental impact of plug-in hybrids is controversial.
A new study now shows that real consumption is too high, especially for vehicles used for business purposes.
Cars with plug-in hybrid drives
consume many times more fuel than specified by the manufacturer.
In practice, company cars in particular are significantly less climate-friendly than hoped.
The deviations of the real from the standard value (WLTP) there are up to 500 percent, as a study by the environmental protection organization ICCT and the Fraunhofer ISI has now shown.
The main reason is the
lack of loading discipline on the part of the users
.
Private customers connect their electrified cars to the socket much more often, but the average fuel consumption is three times as high as that stated by the manufacturer.
How much does a plug-in hybrid consume?
In detail, the study determined that
company cars
only cover 11 to 15 percent of the distances electrically, which results in an
average consumption
of 7.6 to 8.4 liters per 100 kilometers.
This corresponds to CO2 emissions of 175 to 195 grams per kilometer.
Privately purchased plug-in hybrids, on the other hand, cover 45 to 49 percent of the routes electrically.
Their consumption is 4.0 to 4.4 liters, the CO2 emissions 90 to 105 grams. Online consumption forums, surveys and manufacturer data served as the basis for the values used for real consumption.
Warning lights in the car and what they mean
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Study on plug-in hybrids: Higher consumption in company cars?
There are probably at least two important reasons for
the clear
differences between private and business plug-in hybrids .
On the one hand, company cars are used more frequently for long-distance journeys,
battery capacity
and
charging speed
are not nearly enough for most models to contest them electrically.
On the other hand, many company car drivers have a company fuel card and, for economic reasons, save themselves having to fill up in their garage at home, which they often have to finance themselves.
Against the background of the results, the authors of the study call for a more realistic test procedure for the emissions of plug-in hybrids, an increase in the prescribed minimum electric range and a waiver of funding programs such as the German environmental bonus.
(
Holger Holzer/SP-X/ahu)