As a Finn, the most annoying aspect here is the unequal treatment by the government. A PHEV is treated very favourably tax wise, and the emissions calculations are very optimistic about the usage of electric power.
My car is a compressed natural gas car that I drive with 100 % biogas, which is domestic made from waste and other side products of industry, and has an estimated CO2 equivalent emission of ~0 g/km. The tax law and emissions calculations assume that I drive it on natural gas all of the time, never a single kilometer using biogas. Additionally I need to pay an extra fixed tax (not based on kilometers driven) just because it's a CNG car. This tax is 6 times higher than for PHEVs.
Thus, a big SUV like Mitsubishi Outlander, which eats a lot of petrol as soon as you get outside the short EV range and runs its engine anyway when it's cold in the winter, gets to pay less tax (which is specifically based on CO2 emissions) than my biogas car.
PHEVs in my eyes are nothing but greenwashing for most people.
Natural gas and biogas, are they both CH4? I heard they could be way worse than CO2 and leak might be inevitable to distribute them around the country and pumped into cars from time to time? Are there scientific evaluation on the impact?
It's the same stuff. I'm not sure how much of it leaks, but you have to either flare it or use it for something or it leaks anyway. Using it for cars and trucks is basically flaring it but using that energy for propulsion.
The taxes are not based on that, though. They're strictly interested in tailpipe emissions (not even lifecycle emissions), and don't recognise biogas at all.
I'm planning on switching to a BEV eventually, but right now it's not financially possible. Most of the time I commute on my bicycle anyway.
My car is a compressed natural gas car that I drive with 100 % biogas, which is domestic made from waste and other side products of industry, and has an estimated CO2 equivalent emission of ~0 g/km. The tax law and emissions calculations assume that I drive it on natural gas all of the time, never a single kilometer using biogas. Additionally I need to pay an extra fixed tax (not based on kilometers driven) just because it's a CNG car. This tax is 6 times higher than for PHEVs.
Thus, a big SUV like Mitsubishi Outlander, which eats a lot of petrol as soon as you get outside the short EV range and runs its engine anyway when it's cold in the winter, gets to pay less tax (which is specifically based on CO2 emissions) than my biogas car.
PHEVs in my eyes are nothing but greenwashing for most people.