Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – A Swiss study commissioned by the Federal Environment Office has concluded that hybrid cars are the greenest in cities and natural gas cars are the best on autoroutes, with both out-performing diesel- and petrol-fuelled cars. The study run by Empa engineers concludes that

“A comparison with gasoline and natural gas fuelled vehicles concludes that hybrid vehicles are the cleanest during inner-city driving whilst natural gas fuelled cars do best on the motorway. When driven in rural areas, both types do equally well. Under mixed conditions (that is real, everyday driving) vehicles based on both concepts offer reductions of up to 25 per cent in CO2 emissions compared to conventional gasoline fuelled automobiles. Hybrid drive systems and natural gas engines therefore represent an important technical measure for reducing CO2 emissions which can be put to use immediately, as do vehicles powered by renewable fuels such as biogas and ethanol derived from waste matter.”

Link: how the tests were carried out, Empa (research arm of EPH, Zurich federal polytechnic institute)