Response to EU measures

German car lobby proposes charging obligation for plug-in hybrids

VDA wil een systeem waarbij bezitters van plug-in hybrides verplicht worden regelmatig op te laden binnen een nog nader te bepalen afstand. Foto: Shutterstock

The German automotive industry association is calling for new regulations requiring drivers of plug-in hybrids to charge their vehicles regularly. In doing so, the industry is responding to stricter European CO2 regulations that threaten the survival of this vehicle category. So reports the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

The German car industry has launched a campaign called ‘Save the plug-in hybrid’. Plug-in hybrids, which have both a combustion engine and an electric motor, are popular in Germany and many other European countries. In theory, they can make short journeys emission-free, but in practice, drivers rarely recharge their cars and mainly drive on petrol or diesel, according to the German newspaper. As a result, these vehicles emit considerably more CO2 than official test values suggest.

A recent study by environmental organisation Transport & Environment, which compared the actual emissions of 127,000 plug-in hybrid cars with the official emissions figures, found that actual CO2 emissions are almost five times higher than the official tests (WLTP) used by manufacturers to measure fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

Targeted incentives

According to Hildegard Müller, president of the German industry association VDA, electric driving in hybrid cars should be “targetedly promoted”. She proposes a system where plug-in hybrids would be required to charge regularly within a distance to be determined. Those who do not charge their hybrid would face reduced engine performance. According to Müller, such measures specifically promote electric driving.

With this proposal, the car lobby is trying to weaken the tightened EU standards for plug-in hybrids, which will take effect from 2026 and 2027. The new rules include stricter calculation methods for CO2 emissions. European fleet limits determine how high the average CO2 emissions of a manufacturer’s new vehicles can be. The permitted values are constantly being lowered to protect the climate. According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the tightened calculation methods could cost manufacturers billions of euros in fines if their fleet averages remain too high.

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This article was automatically translated from the Dutch language original to English (British).

Author: Nina Koelewijn

Source: MobilityEnergy.com

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