The DGT environmental label 0 under debate. Not all plug-in hybrids will be able to carry it

The environmental label 0 is the one that fully electric cars and plug-in hybrids can display if they prove an electric range of more than 40 kilometres. So far, so good. At least for now. Because we have already seen in other articles that not all plug-in hybrid drivers use this feature when driving in the city. And this means that these vehicles could lose the 0 label.

According to statements from the president of the Spanish Renting Association, Jose Martín Castro Acebes, it seems that the criteria for which vehicles can carry this DGT label, the most sustainable of all, are being reconsidered. The problem stems from what we have already discussed: drivers of these vehicles do not use the full electric potential of the car.

This situation means that action could be taken to change the values that qualify a vehicle for this label. Currently, plug-in hybrids need an electric range of up to 40 kilometres to enjoy the advantages offered by the environmental label 0.

According to this information, to be eligible to display label 0, a plug-in hybrid would need a battery that allows it to travel at least 90 kilometres in electric mode. This would exclude practically all plug-in hybrids, since only about 10% of those on the market fall within this range.

Those that do not reach this electric range will have to settle for the ECO label, which offers almost as many advantages as label 0, but is not exactly the same. For now, nothing has been decided and everything is up in the air. There is even talk of creating an intermediate label between ECO and 0 to accommodate these cars.

It is not the only controversy surrounding the DGT environmental labels. Doubts have also been raised about the ECO label being given to cars with mild hybridisation, since the emissions benefit of this type of engine is not clear. Either way, we already know that there will be quite a few changes to the DGT environmental labels in the near future.