U.S. Fuel Economy Down in January

The WardsAuto Fuel Economy Index indicates the average fuel economy of light vehicles sold in the U.S. in January was 25.2 mpg (9.3 L/100 km), resulting in a year-over-year decline of 0.5%.

The national average gasoline price continued to fall, down to $2.057 per gallon in January, the lowest monthly price since March 2009. The market share of standard gasoline vehicles reached 96.2%, a percentage unsurpassed in over four years. All alternative power types suffered losses as consequence, with hybrids at a 52-month low.

Low fuel costs also swayed shoppers to larger vehicles. Light trucks accounted for 58.2% of indexed sales, leaving cars at 41.8%. This compares with 54.5%/45.5% split a year earlier.

Several automakers were able to eke up from December to all-time high index ratings despite the overall trend toward less-efficient vehicles. Daimler’s score grew from an increase in plug-in hybrid sales. Jaguar Land Rover posted a gain in diesel sales. Honda and Kia showed growth in the share of their small-car segments. Model-year efficiency improvements helped Volvo and Mazda tick up to new index highs.

BMW showed the greatest downturn from January 2015, slipping 7.4% to 25.7 mpg (9.2 L/100 km) as result of a shift to CUVs from cars and a decrease in electrified powertrains.

Cars averaged 29.5 mpg (8.0 L/100 km), 0.3% higher than prior-year. The improvement was mostly seen by small and midsize cars, up 0.7% and 0.9%, respectively. Large and luxury models were nearly flat from year-ago.

Domestically built cars showed a 0.5% gain from last year, hitting 29.5 mpg (8.0 L/100 km) in January. Imported cars rated 29.7 mpg (7.9 L/100 km), down 0.3%.

The index rating for light trucks rose 1.2% from last year and grew slightly from December to a record high of 21.9 mpg (10.7 L/100 km). CUVs and SUVs saw relatively big gains in their scores, while vans and pickups posted year-over-year declines.

The index score for domestic light trucks was flat with like-2015 at 21.2 mpg (11.1 L/100 km). Imported models showed significant growth, up 2.6% to 24.5 mpg (9.6 L/100 km).

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