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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Alex Daniel

Three-quarters of UK’s popular plug-in hybrid cars unable to use rapid chargers

A charging cable connects a roadside charging point to an electric car on a leaf-covered street
The cars, which are able to run on electric batteries as well as combustion engines, have been promoted as a way to cover long distances while still reducing emissions. Photograph: Xiu Bao/Alamy

Three-quarters of the 20 top-selling plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in the UK cannot use rapid chargers, research has found, amid concerns that many are essentially “petrol cars pulling round a heavy battery”.

The cars, which can run on electric batteries as well as combustion engines, have been promoted by carmakers as a way to cover long distances in a single drive – unlike fully electric cars – while still reducing emissions.

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