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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Kate Connolly in Berlin

Plug-in hybrids use three times more fuel than manufacturers claim, analysis finds

Cars plugged in at charging stations on a road.
Plug-in hybrids are marketed as environmental alternatives to traditional petrol cars. Photograph: William Barton/Alamy

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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