U.S. Fuel Economy Fell in June

The average fuel economy of light vehicles sold in June was 25.4 mpg (9.3 L/100 km), according to the WardsAuto Fuel Economy Index, down 0.1% from same-month 2015.

The national average price per gallon of gasoline in June was $2.467. A 4.0% increase from May marked the fourth consecutive month-to-month gain, yet the price remained 14.5% below year-ago and 34.5% less than like-2014.

Vehicle shoppers seemed unfazed by the rising gas prices, as the share of standard gasoline powertrains increased from May to June. Hybrid models fell below 2% of indexed sales.

Share of light trucks also rose from the previous month, hitting 59.4% in June. CUVs remained the market’s favorite body style, and the other three light-truck segments gained favor compared with May.

General Motors bucked those trends to achieve a record-high 23.5 mpg (10.0 L/100 km). The automaker saw sales of cars, especially small models, increase and hybrids tick up in share.

The large-car segment hit a best-ever rating of 22.4 mpg (10.5 L/100 km), but covered only 1.8% of the market in June.

The index rating of domestically built cars rose slightly from May to hit 30.0 mpg (7.8 L/100 km) for the first time. All alternative power types gained share in June. Ford was the leader in this movement with its share of electrified powertrains increasing from 8.8% to 10.5%.

Despite its success with alternative-power cars, Ford posted the greatest year-over-year FEI decline, 4.4%, hurt by strong sales of its pickups and vans. Volkswagen took a similar dive, down 4.2%, as a result of shoppers choosing CUVs over cars and the ongoing suspension of diesel-powered vehicle sales.

Mitsubishi was the top-rated automaker (excluding electric-only Tesla), but at 29.7 mpg (7.9 L/100 km), fell below 30 mpg (7.8 L/100 km) for the first month since February. Similarly, Mazda scored 29.5 mpg (8.0 L/100 km) to fall under the 30 mpg (7.8 L/100 km) mark for the first time this year.

For the first half of the year, the index average sat 0.1% below like-2015 at 25.4 mpg (9.3 L/100 km).

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