EC cracks down on plug-in hybrid cars and tightens CO2 emissions tests

The European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, has announced new, stricter measures for testing plug-in hybrid cars. Vehicles manufactured from this year onwards will not be allowed to exceed the average emissions threshold of 93,6 grams of CO2/km without being penalized.

Plug-in hybrid vehicles will be subject to stricter emissions tests in accordance with new regulations published by the European Commission.

Starting this year, all new cars with internal combustion engines, including hybrids, manufactured after January 1, 2025, must have emissions levels that do not exceed an average threshold of 93,6 grams of CO2/km. Those who fail to comply with this new limit will face a fine of 95 euros for each additional gram of CO2 emissions.

However, PHEV cars will be tested differently than before, following accusations that these vehicles consume more fuel than manufacturers declare and emit higher levels of CO2 emissions. This is because many owners of these cars rely mainly on the petrol engine and neglect to charge their batteries.

As a result, the new emissions tests for PHEV vehicles will take into account two operating modes.

First, the vehicles will be tested with fully charged batteries until they are empty. Then, the same cars will be driven with discharged batteries to measure CO2 emissions from the internal combustion engine. The emission values ​​obtained from these tests will be weighted using a utilization factor, which depends on the distance traveled in discharged battery mode.

The European Commission will adjust the duty cycle for 2025, so that the Euro 6e-bis indicator is at 2.200 kilometers. In 2023, the duty cycle was adjusted to 800 kilometers, in line with the Euro 6e standard. In two years, this factor will be adjusted again, as the measuring distance will increase to 4260 kilometers.

An example of testing CO2 emissions from a plug-in hybrid car is the test conducted by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). The BMW X1 xDrive25e PHEV model was tested, which can travel 70 kilometers in electric mode.

Tests have shown a CO2 emission value of around 45 g/km, when using the utilization factor according to the 2023 standards. With the new measurements according to the 2025 standards, the CO2 emission value for the same vehicle increases to 96 g/km. /Telegraph/