Copyright SlashGear
A recent study shows that plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, also known as PHEVs, produce nearly as much pollution as the gasoline-powered vehicles they are ultimately intended to replace. This study was performed by Transport & Environment (T&E), whose team includes, according to the website, "Europe's leading advocates for clean transport & energy." What does PHEV actually mean? A PHEV is a vehicle with a hybrid powertrain, along with an externally rechargeable battery that allows the vehicle to travel a limited distance, somewhere between 25 and 58 miles, purely on electric power. Once that the battery's capacity has been used up, the vehicle can then switch over to run like a conventional gas-powered vehicle for as long as its fuel lasts. The intended use case for PHEVs was for them to be charged them every night, letting them use battery power for most or all of their daily driving needs, while falling back on their gasoline engines when their batteries were depleted, but this is not what happened. The T&E study found that instead of PHEVs traveling 84% of their miles under electric power, it was actually only 27%, meaning that the PHEVs were likely not charged every night, turning them into internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles that pollute as much as any other ICE vehicle. Another issue was that in electric mode, these vehicles had insufficient power, requiring their ICE engines to assist the electric motor for one-third of their electric only driving. This increased the pollution produced by the vehicle while also increasing owners' gasoline costs. The T&E study was done in Europe, where gasoline costs are generally higher than in the U.S. The study also found that the additional, unexpected fuel cost while driving in electric mode would add up to 250 Euros, or about $290. It also discovered that PHEVs with a longer electric-only range tend to pollute even more, due to their 28% higher curb weights and their 33% more powerful combustion engines. These longer-range PHEVs tend to be larger vehicles with bigger, heavier batteries that produce higher levels of pollution when operated in ICE mode, and ICE mode will be on frequently if you don't charge a PHEV. This study also took a look at a variant of PHEVs called EREVs, or extended range electric vehicles. EREVs, like the Mazda EZ-60, are currently popular in China, and have been touted as a good solution for the U.S. market and its limited EV charging infrastructure, along with the slow transition towards full EVs. Like PHEVs, EREVs have a hybrid system with a battery that allows for a certain amount of EV-only range. EREVs differ from PHEVs in that their ICE engines are used to recharge the vehicle's battery when it's depleted, providing additional electric range. EREVs from China have some advantages over their PHEV counterparts, with much more powerful electric motors that require no ICE assistance during hard acceleration. Chinese EREVs also have larger batteries with built-in fast charging capability, which many PHEVs do not possess. EREVs from automakers Volkswagen, Stellantis, and Ford are planned for the U.S. market.
