Will Hybrid Cars Have A Future In Europe?
As I reported earlier this week, the EU has now formally abandoned its 2035 ban on the sale of new petrol/diesel cars
Instead there will be a requirement to reduce vehicle emissions by 90 percent from 2021 levels. It seems a lot, but is it really?
The 2021 baseline for passenger cars was approximately 110 g CO2/km, so the 2035 target will be around 11kg.
But currently, manufacturers have already managed to cut to 93.6 g.
Undoubtedly this change of plan will be a massive boost for hybrid cars.
The Volkswagen Golf hybrid is said to emit 25 g/km, compared to 115 g/km for the diesel. Large scale rollout of plug in hybrids will therefore take manufacturers much closer to their 2035 targets.
Obviously there may still be increased sales of EVs, which may help close the difference.
There is also the exploitation of e-fuels, synthetic or made from waste oil, which will also presumably be classified as “carbon free”.
Above all this change of policy will allow the European motor industry to escape the bullet and carry on making ICE cars indefinitely.
It is not insignificant that the Telegraph article reported:
“Michael Lohscheller, the chief executive of Swedish EV manufacturer Polestar, added: “Moving from a clear 10pc zero-emissions target to 90pc may seem small, but if we backtrack now, we won’t just hurt the climate. We’ll hurt Europe’s ability to compete.”
The big losers will be Chinese EV makers like Polestar!
There is one more huge hole in the EU logic.
The fuel consumption and emissions for all hybrid cars assumes a mix of battery and engine use.
The Golf hybrid’s battery only has a range of 88 miles – more like 50 in practice, and many drivers won’t necessarily have to ability to charge at home.
The likely result is that many carmakers will simply carry on using hybrids as if they were bog-standard petrol cars. They will run wholly on petrol, which will emit just as much CO2 as the petrol version does!
Officially, hybrids will count as low-emission. In practice, they will not reduce emissions one jot.
See more here notalotofpeopleknowthat
Header image: Auto Express