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A European study denounces the “environmental disaster” of plug-in hybrid cars with carbon dioxide emissions higher than those legally declared and the environmental association Zero calls for the end of tax benefits for these vehicles.
In a statement released this Sunday, Zero reveals the conclusions of a study by the European Federation of Transport and Environment, to which it belongs, and according to which this type of vehicle (PHEV, in its acronym in English) registers real emissions which can be almost twice as advertised, based on tests “in real conditions” of use carried out on the three best-selling models in Europe in 2019: a BMW X5 (the PHEV available on the market with greater autonomy), a Volvo XC60 and a Mitsubishi Outlander.
“The study concluded that, even under optimal test conditions, in which the vehicles are used in the most moderate way and with fully charged batteries, their emissions are between 28% and 89% higher than those registered in the tests . If they are used in conventional mode, that is, using the combustion engine exclusively, these cars emit three to eight times more CO2. [dióxido de carbono] than the tests indicate, “says Zero’s statement.
The environmental association adds that “if the combustion engine is used additionally to charge the batteries – something that usually happens before drivers enter urban areas with low emissions – emissions, CO2 and in general pollutants with direct harmful effects on health , it rises up to 12 times above those officially announced ”.
The tests found levels of autonomy in electric mode lower than those announced, the lowest case corresponding to “just 11 kilometers”, in addition to concluding that in real conditions of use “the use of the combustion engine is constant”, which means that “these cars only comply with what is announced in the catalogs on very short trips; for example, on a 100-kilometer trip, they emit up to approximately double the official value ”.
For Zero, the tests that officially regulate the level of emissions of these vehicles have the problem of being based on “the excessively optimistic assumption of the share of use in electric mode, that is, the factor of electric use, resulting in CO2 values unrealistically low”. .
Therefore, forecasts more in line with real electricity consumption would place emission levels at “official values 50% -230% higher than those currently in force”.
The environmental association mentions the increase in PHEV car sales in Europe, with half a million units sold in 2020, and 8,300 cars were sold in Portugal until October, “practically double what was sold in the same period of 2019.” The new limits in force in the European Union force manufacturers to sell low-emission cars.
The premise of the study released this Sunday was precisely to understand if the announced emissions corresponded to the reduction to a third of the equivalent conventional cars, as announced by the manufacturers, or if “they are a trick to comply with legal requirements.”
Based on the results, Zero calls for the end of tax benefits and subsidies for the purchase of these vehicles, noting that they are estimated at more than 43 million euros by 2020 in Portugal.
This is a value that is being disrupted in the support of polluting technology and that, therefore, Zero recommends, should be channeled without delay towards truly green technologies ”, defends the association.
Zero believes that these supports should be reserved for 100% electric cars, recommending that in a transitional phase support and access to subsidies be granted for vehicles with a minimum range of 60 kilometers and “proven access” to charging points.
The reduction in Vehicle Tax should drop from 75% to 25% and companies should only be able to recover half of the Value Added Tax (VAT) and not all, as currently.
At the European level, Zero asks that the “super credits” are no longer attributed to the sale of PHEV cars and that the tests be based on real conditions of use. It also suggests that the European Commission should legislate for actual emissions to be calculated, calculated on the basis of usage recorded in the vehicle’s on-board computer.
