Are plug-in hybrid cars worse for environment than factory tests suggest? It depends how you drive them

Currently accounting for 3% of new car sales, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are sold as low-carbon alternatives to fossil fuel and conventional hybrid cars.

But a new report threatens to shatter their green credentials.

Research from the pressure groups Transport and Environment and Greenpeace has claimed that CO鈧� emissions from plug-in hybrid cars are “two and a half times” higher than tests by manufacturers suggest.

While these official figures place the average emissions from plug-in hybrid vehicles at 44g of CO鈧� per kilometre, the new report argues that it’s more like 120g on roads.

So why is there such a large discrepancy, and which one is correct? Are customers being misled about the environmental impact of the cars they drive?

Read  by Dr Ashley Fly on the Conversation website.

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