If plug-in hybrid drivers aren’t charging their vehicles regularly, they’re driving gas-powered cars that add extra battery weight that doesn’t necessarily help reduce emissions. Now the EPA is adjusting for that.
As explained in a International Council on Clean Transport (ICCT) blog post, a proposed EPA regulation released on April 12 will reduce the amount of electric vehicle driving estimates for PHEVs for the purposes of calculating greenhouse gas emissions.
So far, the EPA has benefited plug-in hybrids when it comes to regulations. Those regulations were written with the assumption that motorists plug in regularly and maximize electric range.
Use PHEV electric mode (credit: International Council on Clean Transport)
But one research ICCT 2022 see that they really don’t. Using self-reported fuel data from the Fuelly.com website and non-engine mileage data obtained from the California Department of Auto Repair (BAR), the results show electric mileage in the current world. The real world of plug-in hybrids could be 25%. -65% lower and 42%-67% higher fuel consumption than EPA approved window stickers.
To account for this, the future EPA will begin to assume that people don’t use their plug-in hybrids as much—with a lower “utility factor” in fleet emissions calculations. Present. For example, a plug-in hybrid with a 35-mile electric range would be labeled as 45% of the way to zero carbon emissions, down from 57% currently. The proposed rule is currently in the public comment period, which runs until July 5.
Volvo XC90 2023
Excessive emissions from plug-in hybrids have been discussed before. A 2020 study from Transport & Environment shows that plug-in hybrid vehicles are pollute more than claimed because they are not used as much as EVs, lack of power, range and actual charging time.
Limited power range has made many plug-in hybrids unsuitable for reducing emissions, something California aims to address with new rules that will require the amount to be paid. 50 miles plug-in hybrid vehicle in 2035. These plug-in hybrids will essentially be the only new passenger cars eligible for sale in the state at that time.
Europe, meanwhile, has really considered early end of plug-in hybrid era and go all-in on EVs for their dubious real-world effects. Will such a move ever happen in the US?
