Automobile club Luxembourg

Petrol, diesel, hybrid (petrol or diesel), Hybrid Plug-In (petrol or diesel), 100% electric, CNG (natural gas) and FCEV (fuel cell).
 

In future, we will have more and more hybrid and electric vehicles. The transition will be gradual, so that petrol and diesel cars will not suddenly disappear. Hydrogen is another possible avenue.
 

Yes, new diesel cars are subject to the Euro 6d-Temp standard according to the WLTP procedure and therefore comply with all limits on polluting emissions in the same way as petrol cars. So there is no reason to limit their access to low-emission zones.
 

No, CO₂ is a greenhouse gas, which is a gas that contributes to global heating. The human body gives off CO₂ merely by breathing and it's not dangerous if we breathe it in.   
 

For equal consumption, a petrol engine emits less CO₂ than a diesel engine because there are fewer atoms of carbon in 1 kg of petrol than in 1 kg of diesel. However, because a petrol engine consumes about 20 to 30% more than the diesel engine, finally, the petrol car emits more CO₂ than the same car with a diesel engine of equivalent power.
 

Because the exhaust gases from diesel engines emit more NOx (nitrogen oxide) and fine particles (of soot) than diesel engines. However, new diesel cars are subject to the Euro 6d-Temp standard according to the WLTP procedure and therefore comply with all limits on polluting emissions in the same way as petrol cars. It is therefore wrong to state that diesel is more polluting.
 

The diesel engine is less appropriate for urban use and short journeys because it takes longer to reach the correct operating temperature, which delays the efficient operation of its system for de-pollution of exhaust gases. Therefore, the de-pollution system is put under severe strain and risks becoming faulty (EGR valve blocked or clogged particle filter). 
 

A hybrid (HEV) is a vehicle that has a combustion engine and one or more electric motors powered by a battery that is rechargeable while driving.
 

A hybrid Plug-In (PHEV) is a vehicle that has a combustion engine and one or more electric motors powered by a battery that is rechargeable when driving and mainly on the main power supply.
 

A 100% electric vehicle (BEV) has one or more electric motors and a large-capacity battery (40-100 kWh).
 

Electric vehicles are charged on the main power supply according to 4 options:

• slow charge at 2 kWh (via an adapter that is connected to a conventional plug)
• the domestic terminal up to 11 kWh (installation done by a professional)
• the public terminal up to 22 kWh (medium-speed charge)
• the rapid terminal from 50 to 350 kWh (in Direct Current)
   

An electric vehicle does not emit CO₂ locally when driving, but the electricity used to recharge it will have emitted CO₂ when it was produced from not renewable enery. These emissions will therefore be variable from one country to another.
 

The consumption of an electric vehicle is measured in kWh/100 km. The actual consumption values usually vary between 14 kWh/100 km for small vehicles (Renault Zoe, Smart) to nearly 30 kWh/100 km for big ones (SUV Tesla X, Jaguar i-Pace, Audi etron, Mercedes EQC400, etc.)
 

The autonomy of an electric vehicle depends on several factors, the most important of which is the size (capacity) of the battery. Then comes consumption, which also depends on several factors, such as the size and weight of the vehicle, how it is driven, as well as weather conditions (the batteries are less efficient at low temperatures) and the use of accessories (heating, air conditioning, headlights, demisting, etc.)
 

The consumption of a hybrid vehicle is measured in l/100 km. The values usually vary between 4 and 8 l/100 km depending on whether one is driving in the town or on roads / motorways, as well as the size of the vehicle.
 

The autonomy of a hybrid vehicle is comparable to that of a combustion vehicle (500 to 600 km) and will depend on the type of driving and usage profile (urban or extra-urban).
 

The consumption of a hybrid plug-in vehicle is measured both in l/100 km and in kWh/100km (because we both fill up the fuel tank and recharge the electric battery). These values are highly variable because they strongly depend on being able to frequently recharge (every 30-40 km), the type of driving (eco, normal or sport) and the usage profile (urban or extra-urban). A hybrid plug-in can therefore have very low consumption (< 2.0 l/100km) if it is possible to recharge its battery very often, or very high consumption (>10.0 l/100 km) in the opposite case.
 

 The autonomy of a hybrid plug-in vehicle is comparable to that of a combustion vehicle (500 to 600 km) and will depend on the type of driving and usage profile (urban or extra-urban). Its 100% electric autonomy, which depends upon the limited size of its battery (10 - 25 kWh), varies between 35 and 70 km.
 

That depends on the size of the battery and the region of the world where the battery was produced (impact of the energy mix). In general, this varies between 40,000 km and 150,000 km!
 

Yes, winter considerably affects the autonomy of an electric vehicle, which may be divided by two in case of severe cold (negative temperatures).
 

For the moment, there are +/- 300 terminals installed, with the aim of reaching 800 terminals in 2021.
 

The cost of recharging the battery of an electric vehicle varies according to the country and the charging method (slow, rapid, private, public, etc.). In Luxembourg, public charging terminals invoice €0.26 / kWh (a 30% increase since 1 January 2020). For a small vehicle this represents +/- 4.00 euros per 100 km and practically twice that for a large electric SUV.
 

Generally, there is a difference of €10,000 to €15,000 between a combustion vehicle and an electric vehicle. The difference increases according to the size of the battery (e.g. for the Renault ZOE, the battery alone costs +/- 8000 euros). This is why purchase bonuses are granted for the purchase of electric vehicles (€5,000) and hybrid plug-in vehicles emitting less than 51 g/km of CO₂ (€2,500). This difference will gradually reduce over time due to technological progress and improved means of production.
 

A conventional hybrid (non-chargeable) vehicle costs an average of €2,000 more than the equivalent petrol vehicle and about the same as an equivalent diesel vehicle.
 

A hybrid plug-in (chargeable) vehicle costs an average of €8,000 to €10,000 more than the petrol or diesel equivalent. The high extra cost is related to the price of the battery (bigger than a conventional hybrid) and the on-board charger.
 

The market for second-hand electric vehicles is immature because there is little visibility on residual values. The impact of the durability of the battery may play a role in the value of the vehicle, particularly when the guarantee has expired (6-8 years).