The fuel economy of new cars in the US is improving and is now 14 per cent higher than four years ago, according to new research from the University of Michigan.
While the US might comparatively seem like a country care-free of the cost of fuel (despite rising costs, petrol-or gasoline to our American friends-is still significantly cheaper than it is over here) it seems that US car buyers are choosing more efficient cars.
Fuel economy of so-called light-duty vehicles (cars, pickup trucks, minivans, vans and SUVs) is now at an all-time high, with average US rating mpg now at 21.5, compared to 18.9 mpg for model year 2008 vehicles. This compares with averages of 21.2 for 2011, 20.7 for 2010 and 19 for 2009, showing a consistent year-on-year rise.
"This implies that consumers tend to choose vehicle models with better fuel economy than the average of all vehicles available," said Brandon Schoettle of the U-M Transportation Research Institute at the University of Michigan, which conducted the research. "The recent economic downturn, coupled with rising gas prices, has led to an increased interest in purchasing more fuel-efficient vehicles."
Using data from the EPA, Schoettle and UMTRI colleague Michael Sivak also examined fuel economy changes by vehicle types, finding that average fuel economy improved 2.8 mpg for cars (including station wagons) and 1.6 mpg for light trucks (pickups, minivans, vans and SUVs) from model year 2008 to model year 2012. Average fuel economy is now 23.4 mpg for cars and 18.6 mpg for light trucks.
The largest increases by car class were found to be station wagons, increasing 4.1 mpg, followed by a 3.8 mpg increase for compact cars. Average economy for diesel models improved 9.8 mpg and 2.6 mpg for conventional gasoline engines, but oddly dropped 3 mpg for hybrids-although these models remain more fuel-efficient overall than internal-combustion-only vehicles and reflects the use of hybrid technology in ever bigger vehicles.
