[dalyons]

It is true. most are much worse at being EVs than the toyota prime models. Toyotas were the top of the euro data on real world EV-only use. Every other manufacturer ranges from worse to hilariously worse. Toyotas are not over half of sales, so therefore "most" applies.

[jeffbee]

You're making this outlandish claim so it is on you to name any currently or recently-marketed PHEV that can't reach highway speeds in EV mode, and to demonstrate that this constitutes "most" of the market or installed base.

[dalyons]

its been widely reported on.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/feb/18/plug-in-...

https://electrek.co/2026/02/19/biggest-study-yet-shows-plug-...

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/16/plug-in-...

the link to the underlying most recent fraunhofer study referred to by the first two seems broken sadly, so i cant get the breakdown by manufacturer anymore. But the data on aggregate is clear - on average the PHEVs cars out there today spend very little time on average in pure EV mode. If they did there would be more than ~20% reduction in emissions.

[jeffbee]

You are not addressing the claim that PHEVs can't reach highway speeds on batteries. That is a ridiculous claim, and it is false. You will not be able to name even one PHEV on the market with this limitation, because they do not exist.

[dalyons]

its acceleration that causes them to drop out of EV mode, when the weak EV drives cant produce enough power. Can you accelerate all the way to highway speed in real world driving without it dropping out? for some yes, for many no, from the guardian article:

"Even when the cars were driven in electric mode, the analysis found that levels of pollution were well above official estimates. The researchers said this was because electric motors were not strong enough to operate alone, with their engines burning fossil fuels for almost one-third of the distance travelled in electric mode."

The manufacturers dont list this admittedly complicated crossover, so you cant say whether one does or doesnt from a spec sheet. The aggregate data is clear though.

[dalyons]

Here’s an even better source, which makes it absolutely clear that their electric engines are too weak in the real world.

“In practice, the combustion engine frequently assists the electric motor in CD mode, especially during acceleration, at higher speeds or uphill driving. On average, the ICE supplies power during almost one third of the distance driven in CD mode. This is largely due to insufficient e-motor power, as most PHEVs are not designed to operate fully electrically under typical real-world conditions.”

“ The largest gap between WLTP and real-world PHEV emissions occurs in CD mode, often referred to as an “electric” mode where real-world CD emissions are even higher than the WLTP average. According to T&E analysis, real-world CO₂ emissions in CD mode average around 68 gCO₂/km, which is nearly nine times as high as the estimated 8 gCO₂/km in CD mode under the WL TP methodology, and almost twice the WL TP average overall emissions (including both electric and combustion modes). In practice, the combustion engine frequently assists the electric motor in CD mode, especially during acceleration, at higher speeds or uphill driving. On average, the ICE supplies power during almost one third of the distance driven in CD mode. This is largely due to insufficient e-motor power, as most PHEVs are not designed to operate fully electrically under typical real-world conditions. This relationship is illustrated by the correlation between e-motor-to-combustion-engine power ratio and emissions in CD mode: vehicles with an average power ratio between electric motor and combustion engine of 0.9, emit approximately 45 gCO2/km in CD mode. An average PHEV with a ratio of 0.7 has emissions of around 68 gCO2/km. Vehicles in the lower decile in terms of their ratio of electric motor to combustion engine power, where it drops to around 0.5, have average CD mode emissions of 105 gCO2/km. In real-world conditions, petrol PHEVs consume around 3 L/100km in electric mode. “

https://uploads.transportenvironment.org/production/files/20...