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.
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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.
Diesel fumes get a really bad wrap because you can see black smoke on old or deleted rigs. In terms of work produced diesels had to beat and will never be replaced. Gas cars produce far more co and CO2 than any diesel, which is bad for environment. Diesels produce more NOx fumes and soot, which is worse for human health than it is for the environment. (Not that it isn’t bad for environment ) Overall diesels just more energy dense and you don’t need near as much to produce the same work as a gas job, and electric will NEVER replace diesel in container boats or semi trucks for goods transport. Do not mistake this as me saying we should all drive old diesel rigs! Just saying for moving large mass it’s pretty impossible to replace with today’s or tomorrow’s tech, and the idea that diesels are dirty and bad is simply wrong.