While most hybrids are said to use one to two litres of fuel per 100km, a study claims they need six litres on average
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.
. . .
According to the study, the vehicles require on average six litres per 100km, or about 300%, more fuel to run than previously cited.
The scientists of the Fraunhofer Institute found that the main reason for the higher-than-stated fuel usage was due precisely to the fact that the PHEVs use two different modes, the electric engine and the combustion engine, switching between both. 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.
The way I read it is:
Sadly, it sounds like Porsche drivers may fall into the first category and Toyota drivers in the second. And there are enough Porches to skew the MPG of the whole PHEV class.
(it’s also possible that Porsche/VW/Audi just make PHEVs that score well on gov’t tests but poorly in the real world, though I’d lean towards the drivers. But the article title really implies that all PHEVs get shockingly bad mileage)
The article is designed to support the anti green agenda now popular. Like that Volvo white paper that claims EVs take more resources to make, but no one read that paper. They compared ICE to EV, but excluded the engine and transmission metals from ICE. I guess those grow on trees.
The media constantly quotes this paper and no one actually read it.