The European Union (EU) is set on updating how they measure carbon emissions of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) to match the real-world impact of such vehicles.
According to reports, from 2025, the EY will significantly reduce the utility factors that regulators use for calculating the CO2 emissions of PHEVs. By 2027, it is expected that these utility factors will be fully aligned with real-world conditions.
This, according to the European green transport industry, is a welcome change since it will bring forward more realistic climate ratings based on actual PHEV emissions on the road.
“For years, the emissions of plug-in hybrids were based on unrealistic driving conditions. The new rules reflect the reality that PHEVs pollute far more than carmakers claim. Governments which still incentivise the purchase of these fake electric vehicles need to stop those harmful subsidies now,” said Anna Krajinska, emissions engineer at Transport and Environment.
The EU also decided to review its new utility factors in 2024 based on data collected from on-board fuel consumption metres, which will give a more comprehensive assessment of the share of kilometres driven electrically.
This will provide an opportunity to further amend the 2025 and 2027 utility factors.
