EU finds PHEV consumes 3.5 times more fuel than WLTP claims – Ferrari PHEV uses more fuel than ICE!

Automakers often tout plug-in hybrids as their stepping stone toward full electrification, offering the silent, zero-emissions performance of an electric vehicle with the convenience and hassle-free performance of an electric vehicle. of a car running on gasoline or diesel. This has contributed to growing PHEV sales in Europe, where tightening emissions regulations are forcing companies to produce more and more of them as a temporary solution.

Of course, we know that PHEVs’ eco credentials aren’t quite as bad as automakers would have us believe, since the driving habits of actual buyers differ a lot from, say, ours. I will tell, optimistic nature of laboratory driving cycles such as WLTP. But one New research conducted by the European Environment Agency (EEA) has pointed out the huge gap between published fuel consumption figures and what owners actually get.

Importantly, the EEA obtains data through on-board fuel consumption monitoring devices installed on vehicles sold in the EU – a requirement as part of WLTP certification – by automakers. supply bowl. While this provides some scope for manufacturers to manipulate the data, it does mean that the data represents real-world usage by actual customers and not just a test. Other experiments conducted by researchers.

In total, the EEA received data from 988,231 vehicles (including 916,216 cars and 12,301 minivans) out of 9,821,479 vehicles registered in the EU, Iceland and Norway in 2021 – the first year The above-mentioned measuring devices become mandatory. The agency said the study aimed to measure the difference between WLTP and real-world fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, as well as suggest ways to tweak the WLTP cycle to be more realistic. .

What the EEA found was that internal combustion engine vehicles registered a fuel consumption of 7.88 l/100 km, compared to their published WLTP average of 6.13 l/100 kilometer. This suggests drivers used around 1 to 1.5 l/100 km more than official estimates. A similar gap exists between real world (180.3 grams/km) and WLTP (148.8 g/km) CO₂ emissions, a difference of 21.2%.

This gap widens into a chasm when it comes to PHEVs, which have 3.5 times (252%) greater fuel consumption (5.97 l/100 km) and CO₂ real-world emissions (139.4 g/km) compared to their published WLTP averages (1.69 l/100 km and 3.96 g/km respectively). The EEA said the results showed plug-in hybrid vehicles were being charged and driven in electric mode far less than expected and that the assumptions used to calculate the WLTP test did not reflect the conditions. reality.

The good news is that for all the fears about PHEVs pollute more than pure ICE vehicles, research shows that plug-in hybrid cars still provide a net benefit. On average, they consumed less fuel and emitted fewer emissions than their petrol and diesel counterparts – even if the reduction was only 23% on average.

Some PHEVs perform better than others. For example, Kia’s plug-in hybrid vehicles are produced in Slovakia (ie sport And Ceed) consumes an average of only 3.87 l/100 km and emits only 88.13 g/km of CO₂. That’s still a big jump over the WLTP estimates of 1.48 l/100 km and 33.72 g/km respectively, but it’s impressive and proves that these cars are fuel efficient or their owners are more diligent about charging. However, this is a relatively small sample – only 82 cars are registered here.

On the other hand, the luxury and performance PHEVs were the worst offenders on the list, reflecting negatively on the relative inefficiency of both cars’ all-electric range. shorter and the owner’s lack of serious charging attitude. Porsche’s PHEV had an average fuel consumption of 10.79 l/100 km compared to their WLTP estimate of 3.03 l/100 km, while Bentley PHEV listed in the study used an average consumption of 12.97 l/100 km compared to a WLTP estimate of 3.6 l/100 km.

However, the worst of the worst is Ferrari. Its 296 GTB And SF90 Stradale/spider used an astonishing average fuel consumption of 20.06 l/100 km compared to their average published WLTP figure of 6.88 l/100 km. That’s not really surprising since their electric motors are mainly used to increase performance rather than to reduce fuel consumption. What’s even more surprising is them use more fuel better than Maranello’s notoriously fuel-guzzling pure gasoline models, only one Average consumption is 16.28 l/100 km. Ouch.

These figures are consistent with the EEA’s findings that heavier ICE vehicles such as SUVs and luxury cars produce 1.5 to 2.5 times more carbon dioxide emissions than claimed, compared to a gap of 20 to 40 g/km for lighter vehicles. This adds to their already higher WLTP CO.₂ emissions figures and, given the wider industry trend towards larger, heavier vehicles, will offset the efficiency gains.

For its part, the EEA believes that it is too early to determine differential trends in fuel consumption and emissions, as the registered vehicles have only been on the road for a year. However, the gap for PHEVs is huge and the EU is changing the way these figures are calculated for plug-in hybrids. These changes will be applied in two steps, from 2025 and 2027 onwards.

So remember, guys – just because you buy a plug-in hybrid doesn’t mean you’ll automatically save on fuel. Savings on fuel bills and reducing emissions largely depend on how often you plug your car in to charge, and if you don’t, you could be using even more fuel and polluting more than when you first buy an ICE car from the start. .

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