On-Road and Laboratory Emissions from Three Gasoline Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles-Part 1: Regulated and Unregulated Gaseous Pollutants and Greenhouse Gases

Road transport is a relevant source of greenhouse gas emissions. In order to meet the European decarbonisation targets, the share of electrified vehicles, including battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), is rapidly growing, becoming the second most popular powertrain in the European market. PHEVs are of interest since they are expected to deliver a reduction in gaseous pollutants such as NOx as well as in greenhouse gases such as CO2. Herein, we explored both categories of emissions for three PHEVs with gasoline direct-injection engines, meeting the latest European emission standards (Euro 6d and Euro 6d-TEMP). They were studied in laboratory and on the road, in different modalities and temperatures. All tested vehicles met the Euro 6 emission limits in the Worldwide Harmonised Light-Duty Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) and the real driving emissions (RDE) test procedure. Still, when their internal combustion engine ignited even for a few km, their emissions were comparable to, and in some cases higher than, the average emissions reported for a fleet of eight conventional Euro 6d-TEMP gasoline direct-injection vehicles. The tested PHEVs presented similar trends to those of conventional vehicles, such as the increase in all pollutants considered at low ambient temperature or the high CO emissions during acceleration events, concomitantly with NH3. Moreover, depending on the boundary conditions, emissions were higher for the vehicles with a battery fully charged with respect to tests performed with the depleted battery. Furthermore, the use of an operating mode that allowed charging the vehicles' high voltage battery using the internal combustion engine had a very strong impact on the vehicles' CO2 emissions, offsetting the benefits in terms of greenhouse gas reduction demonstrated in other conditions. The results indicate that for the sample tested, the expected reduction in pollutants emission due to the presence of a hybrid gasoline-electric traction seemed in some cases limited, also showing high variability. CO2 emissions were also affected by the initial state of charge of the vehicles' high voltage battery as well as from the user-selectable operating mode, also in this case with high variability.

Automated summary

Road transport is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. The popularity of electrified vehicles, including battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, is rapidly increasing in order to meet decarbonisation targets in Europe. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles have the potential to reduce both gaseous pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. However, research has shown that the emissions from some plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, particularly when the internal combustion engine is used, are comparable to or even higher than those from conventional vehicles.