U.S. Fuel Economy Index Up Slightly in December

The WardsAuto Fuel Economy Index rating for U.S. light-vehicle sales reached 25.0 mpg (9.4 L/100 km) in December, up just 0.2% from same-month 2014 and 0.2% below November’s result.

The national average gasoline price in December was $2.144, the lowest monthly price since April 2009 and resulting in a sixth consecutive month-to-month decline. Compared with same-month 2014, the share of standard gasoline-powered vehicles was up, at the cost of hybrids and electrics. Plug-in hybrid models were flat from year-ago, saved by a wider model selection, especially in the luxury sector. 

The average gas price for full-2015 was $2.520, 26.7% below 2014, a drop unmatched since the recession brought prices down 27.1% to $2.406 in 2009. With economic conditions much better in 2015, consumers were able to take advantage of low fuel prices and afford larger vehicles. Light trucks hit a record high share for the year, boosted primarily by CUVs, but all segments saw growth from the previous year.

Light trucks accounted for 60.7% of indexed light-vehicle sales in December, a record high share for any month. The vehicles averaged 21.8 mpg (10.8 L/100 km), 1.8% better than year-ago. The full-year score matched the December result, and was 3.5% above the full-2014 rating.

CUVs eked out record-high fuel economy in December, reaching 24.2 mpg (9.7 L/100 km). Although consumers have shown favor for the increasingly affordable vehicles, there was still relatively slow growth with the largest, least-efficient models.

Cars averaged 29.8 mpg (7.9 L/100 km), a high point for the vehicle type. Year-to-date, the index rating sat at 29.5 mpg (8 L/100 km), 1.0% better than same-period 2014. Small cars hit a best-ever score, 31.8 mpg (7.4 L/100 km), showing customers still in this segment are most concerned with fuel economy for financial or environmental reasons. Luxury cars showed the most improvement, up 6.1% in December and 4.4% for full-year, boosted by greater availability of smaller, turbocharged engines and alternatively powered variants.

Gasoline-powered models accounted for 95.3% of indexed sales for the year, the highest point since 2011, when plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles were just entering the market. Share of PHEVS (0.3%) and EVS (0.4%) were mostly flat from prior-year. Hybrids fell from 2.8% to 2.2% of sales. Share of diesels dropped from 2.1% to 1.8%, due to the Volkswagen emissions scandal in addition to the market trend toward gasoline.

Despite low sales, adding alternative powertrains to model lineups moved some automakers to better index ratings. BMW saw the greatest growth in 2015, up 4.0% with the help of the i8 plug-in and i3 EV. Close behind was Volkswagen, improving 3.9%, due in part to the e-Golf.

The market finished at 25.3 mpg (9.3 L/100 km) for the whole year, 0.9% above 2014. This was the lowest year-to-year gain in the eight years of the index, kept positive by model-year improvements.

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