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

Three-quarters of the 20 top-selling plug-in hybrid electrical vehicles (PHEVs) successful the UK cannot usage accelerated chargers, probe has found, amid concerns that galore are fundamentally “petrol cars pulling circular a dense battery”.

The cars, which tin tally connected electrical batteries arsenic good arsenic combustion engines, person been promoted by carmakers arsenic a mode to screen agelong distances successful a azygous thrust – dissimilar afloat electrical cars – portion inactive reducing emissions.

But lone 26% of the vehicles sold crossed the apical 20 models, which see the Jaecoo 7, the Ford Kuga and Hyundai Tucson, are capable to usage accelerated chargers with powers of 50kW oregon more, according to investigation by the manufacture body, ChargeUK.

These chargers tin rapidly apical up a car artillery – for illustration astatine a motorway work presumption – adding a important magnitude of scope successful 20 to 30 minutes. Cars that cannot usage them are constricted to overmuch slower charging speeds, meaning drivers wanting to recharge mid-trip whitethorn look a hold of respective hours. Hybrid owners whitethorn alternatively take to trust connected their petrol engines.

Shane Brennan, the main enforcement of ChargeUK, said: “A plug-in hybrid electrical conveyance that is ne'er plugged successful is simply a costly petrol car pulling circular a dense battery. PHEV drivers incapable to complaint connected the nationalist charging web rapidly autumn into patterns of being petrol reliant.

“Government indispensable not beryllium hoodwinked into promoting the thought that boosting PHEV income is simply a meaningful measurement towards electrification. It is simply a spectacular ain extremity to beryllium seduced by a mythical ‘PHEV compromise’.”

Repeated studies person recovered PHEVs pump retired significantly much planet-heating pollution than authoritative figures show. Despite this, the authorities past twelvemonth allowed manufacturers to sell much of them towards their EV targets.

PHEVs were the fastest-growing benignant of car sold successful the UK past year, with 227,000 registered – up astir 35% connected 2024 – according to authoritative data. A further 180,000 person been sold truthful acold this year.

The apical 20 models sold besides see the BYD Seal, the MG HS and the BMW 3 Series, nary of which tin usage accelerated chargers.

In a caller consultation connected the zero emanation conveyance mandate, the authorities said PHEVs were driven connected electrical powerfulness acold little than authoritative figures suggested. The study said the method utilized to cipher emissions savings “significantly overestimates electrical driving, arsenic successful existent beingness galore drivers complaint infrequently, meaning existent satellite CO2 emissions are higher than authoritative figures”.

However, it is expected to weaken targets for axenic EV income adjacent further erstwhile a consultation connected changing the mandate closes successful October, aft a play of aggravated lobbying from the car industry. Last week, Nissan suggested it could withhold a £170m concern successful its factory successful Sunderland if the UK does not weaken the rules.

None of the apical 20 models tin usage ultra-rapid chargers, the fastest tier connected the network, susceptible of adding important scope successful a substance of minutes. Rapid charging is defined arsenic 50kW and supra and ultra-rapid arsenic from 150kW.

Rapid and ultra-rapid chargers marque up astir a 4th of the UK’s nationalist charging points, according to authorities figures, but present the bulk of the network’s full charging capableness due to the fact that they are truthful overmuch faster.

By contrast, each 1 of the apical 20 models of axenic electrical vehicles sold past twelvemonth could usage accelerated chargers, and 64% could usage ultra-rapid ones.

It comes aft carmakers raised discounts connected combustion motor cars past month, including hybrids, and weakened them connected electric, arsenic they neared their yearly EV income targets.

Autotrader said mean discounts for petrol cars listed connected its level jumped sharply to 11.9% successful September from 11.3% successful August. Meanwhile EV discounts fell to 10.7% from 11.1%, which the radical said was chiefly down to companies specified arsenic Mercedes-Benz and MG “scaling backmost their incentives arsenic they adjacent successful connected their required ZEV mandate levels for the year”.

A authorities spokesperson said it was taking a applicable attack by letting drivers take plug-in hybrids, adding that the vehicles’ real-word c emissions were inactive 40% little than the mean petrol oregon diesel car.