U.S. Fuel Economy Flat in February

The average fuel economy of light vehicles sold last month was 25.2 mpg (9.3 L/100 km), up just 0.2% from year-ago and 0.1% better than the WardsAuto Fuel Economy Index’s January result.

The national average gas price was $1.872 per gallon, below $2 for the first time in seven years. A 9% drop from January led to an 8-month streak of month-to-month declines. Diesel prices also slipped below $2 to $1.998, the lowest price since January 2005.

The share of electrified powertrains in February held steady from prior-month, but diesels stole a 0.1% share from standard gasoline-powered vehicles. Compared with same-month 2015, shares of diesels, electrics and hybrids were down.

Long-term low fuel costs continued to push shoppers toward utility vehicles instead of cars. Indexed light-truck deliveries rose to penetration of 57.9%, a February record that significantly beat the 54.9% mark set in like-2015. Cars accounted for 42.1% of the market as sales volumes fell from year-ago for the fourth straight month.

Some automakers were excluded from this trend. Audi was bumped up to a record-high 24.5 mpg (9.6 L/100 km) from increased interest in its small and midsize cars rather than CUVs. A similar shift helped Volvo make the greatest improvement from February 2015, up 11.9% to 23.6 mpg (10.0 L/100 km).

BMW showed the greatest year-over-year decline, slipping 9.7% to 25.6 mpg (9.2 L/100 km). Sales moved from cars to utility vehicles and electric vehicle sales dipped greatly.

Mazda remained the top automaker (excluding electric-only Tesla) at 30.1 mpg (7.8 L/100 km).

Cars scored 29.6 mpg (7.9 L/100 km) on the February index, 1.3% better than year-ago. Light trucks averaged 21.9 mpg (10.8 L/100 km), up 1.0%. Both vehicle types benefited from increased demand for relatively small models.

Year-to-date, the index stood at 25.2 mpg (9.3 L/100 km), 0.1% less than the same period in 2015. This year is on track to show the lowest year-over-year growth, worse than the 0.7% gain seen in 2015 from 2014.

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