Mainstream media seized upon research by Greenpeace and carry and environment last week, suggesting that plug-in hybrid cars have become a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”. This won’t surprise numerous automobile express readers, but it turns out that PHEVs aren’t that efficient if you don’t, well, plug them in.
It was an interesting angle for the environmental pressure groups to take – and one that I saw with interest as I completed another week of pure-electric school runs in our Volvo XC40 plug-in hybrid.
Best plug-in hybrids 2022
PHEVs are a relatively easy target for the likes of Greenpeace, because if they aren’t used properly, then they are, in effect, regular combustion-engined automobiles made less efficient by the extra weight of the batteries that they’re forced to carry around.
Advertisement – post continues below
Trouble is, numerous company car choosers pick these automobiles not because of their potential for everyday efficiency and zero-emissions motoring, but because their official CO2 emissions imply they can save a tidy sum on Benefit-in-Kind tax. and when these people then drive their automobiles as they would a regular petrol or diesel vehicle, they do end up with relatively poor economy.
We agree that this situation is unsatisfactory. but at the same time, we’re with the car industry in rating plug-in hybrid technology as a helpful tool in the transition towards all-electric motoring.
So here’s an idea. With fully connected automobiles becoming much more prevalent, there’s scope for a better intelligent taxation system which continues to offer company car choosers financial benefits through choosing much more environmentally friendly cars – but which then hits them with a penalty if they don’t use that zero-emissions ability to a sensible extent. The automobiles will nearly certainly keep a record of when the engine is running and when they’re using battery power alone, so why not use that data to encourage much more responsible use of PHEVs?
