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Plug-in hybrids use three times more fuel than manufacturers claim, analysis finds (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 2 days ago by Powderhorn@beehaw.org to c/environment@beehaw.org

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Plug-in hybrid electric cars (PHEVs) use much more fuel on the road than officially stated by their manufacturers, a large-scale analysis of about a million vehicles of this type has shown.

The Fraunhofer Institute carried out what is thought to be the most comprehensive study of its kind to date, using the data transmitted wirelessly by PHEVs from a variety of manufacturers while they were on the road.

The cars involved were all produced between 2021 and 2023. The data transmitted enabled analysts to determine their precise and real-world fuel consumption, as opposed to that stated in the vehicles’ official EU approved certification.

PHEVs, cars which combine a petrol or diesel engine with a battery-powered electric motor that is charged from an external energy point, give drivers the flexibility to be able to switch between the ecologically safer power source, and the more conventional, but environmentally more damaging one, as and when conditions allow. Manufacturers typically market the vehicles as energy efficient. On paper at least, the vehicles are said to use much less fuel, between one and two litres per 100km, than conventional cars. However environmental groups have long since voiced scepticism over the claims.

According to the study, the vehicles require on average six litres per 100km, or about 300%, more fuel to run than previously cited.

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[–] Tinidril@midwest.social 10 points 2 days ago (3 children)

It really depends on the owner and how they are driven. We have a plugin hybrid that probably uses even less fuel, since it mostly gets used around town and is consistently plugged in when at home. The gas engine doesn't kick in at all until the battery is drained, or until it decides the gas in the tank is getting too old.

[–] eltoukan@jlai.lu 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

It really depends on the owner and how they are driven

I'm not sure about this study (can't read any German oops), but expected vs real-life usage of PHEVs (Plug-in Hybrid) is exactly the problem brought up by T&E and others at the end of last year, see for example this report from October 2025:

The [fuel consumption and CO2 emissions] gap is mostly caused by flawed assumptions on the share of electric driving mode (the ‘utility factor’, UF) which leads to a drastic underestimate of official PHEV emissions. The UF overestimated the electric driving share, assuming 84% over 2021-2023, whereas real-world data shows this to be just 27%.

I'm not doubting at all that you outperform the expected consumption, but sadly on average it seems like there's more of a systematic (and significant) under-performance. However, this is comparing WLTP testing to real-life driving EU data, for cars sold in the EU. I'm sure that this might be region-dependent as models and driving habits might be radically different.

EDIT: oops as mentioned by @Don_alForno@feddit.org, this seems to be more about the engine of certain manufacturers consuming more than expected in electric drive mode:

Until now it has been claimed by manufacturers that the vehicles used only a little or almost no fuel when in the electric mode. The studies showed that this was not in fact the case.

So not the same as the T&E study, and much less about usage.

[–] Tinidril@midwest.social 1 points 1 day ago

My experience is only with the Chevy Volt which was sadly discontinued. The Volt's engine will occasionally come on if I'm accelerating from speed, like in a short merge to a fast expressway, but that doesn't last long. Aside from that and burning old gas, the engine never comes on while the battery has charge. I have no idea how other plugins function.

[–] brawndo@piefed.social 5 points 2 days ago

I had one and only put gas in it when taking a trip out of town. On a road trip I would get about 38mpg. Not great for what is was but better than anything else I owned before. I had that car for 5 years and 120,000 miles.

The fact that I used 0 gas for my daily use brought the cars lifetime mpg to 163mpg!

Also, I learned the hard way that gas can go bad fairly quickly.

[–] albbi@piefed.ca 5 points 2 days ago

or until it decides the gas in the tank is getting too old.

Thanks for answering a question I had about what happens if the gas starts getting too old.