Using that data, the Fraunhofer Institute could determine how much of that energy came from charging when plugged in. It found that less than a third of 1 million PHEVs in Germany plugged in either occasionally or not at all. U.S. automakers that are pushing future PHEV models as appealing alternatives for American drivers should take note. By blending gas with electricity, these automakers hope to boost fleet-wide efficiency without a wide rollout of EVs. At best, Toyota drivers used electricity for 44% of the energy used for driving, suggesting they plugged in the most frequently. The worst' Porsche drivers, at just 0.8%, an average of 7 kilowatt-hours over two years. In other words, the average Porsche PHEV driver charged their battery less than 50% of its capacity ' once. Studies have previously shown that PHEVs produce about 3.5 times more emissions than their official ratings would suggest. This new study explains why since it directly assesses how much electricity the...
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